The Definition of Love
by lanpheas
Summary: The war is over, all the worlds are after them, and running is the only option. Their relationship is forbidden, and if they so much as look back, their enemies will catch them. He thought life as a human would be easier, but alas he was proven wrong.
1. The Beginning of War

**The Definition of Love**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own bleach, Tite Kubo does. This is the only time I will type this.

**Summary: **The war is over and some unfortunate individuals were left with nowhere to go. Grimmjow didn't want to be a human, Ulquiorra doesn't know what to expect, and Ichigo can't take any more of the madness. Yet Orihime thinks things are great. But that's what family is, right? Crazy!

_"A warning to the people, the good and the evil_  
_This is war_  
_To the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim_  
_This is war_

_It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie_  
_The moment to **live** and the moment to **die**_  
_The moment to fight, the moment to fight_  
_To fight, to fight, to fight_

_To the right, to the left_  
_We will fight to the death_  
_To the edge of the earth_  
_It's a brave new world from the **last** to the **first**"_

_**This is War - 30 Seconds to Mars**_

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of War  
**

"Well this is interesting… I suppose…" the exasperated brunette sighed and placed his head in his hand, boredom apparent in his blue-gray eyes. "What do you think it means?"

"How can you ask such a stupid question Starrk," the pink haired scientist pushed his glasses further up onto his nose. "I wouldn't have expected such idiocy out of you, but I suppose the world is full of surprises." He sounded bitter.

"Well if you're so smart Szayel why don't you explain it?" the blue haired man sitting on the ground hissed. "Fuckin' retarded, sitting around here bitchin', I'm tired of it." The pink haired scientist cast the sixth Espada a superior glare before promptly turning and ignoring his existence.

"I don't know how the rest of you can't feel it," he continued. "We're obviously caught in limbo."

"Limbo?" Harribel crossed her arms beneath her breasts and stared at the pink haired man curiously, obviously expecting him to continue. Grimmjow felt that it was unfortunate that the 8th of their group was more than willing to persist.

"Well, if any of you would just taste the spiritual air, you'd be able to tell that that opening," he pointed to a large, eye shaped hole to their north. It appeared to lead to nothing, a black abyss, "leads to the human world." Turning, he faced south. "And that one leads back to Hueco Mundo."

Silence. The scientist rolled his eyes.

"In other words, we're stuck between them," he turned back to Harribel, "and we need to pick which one to go through." The group cast questioning looks around, but said nothing. They were currently residing in what might be perceived as a white cloud. It was endless, yet closed in on them; there was no escape unless they stepped into one of the two dark openings.

"Human… world?" A small, unsure, high-pitched voice entered the conversation and all heads turned to its source. She stood about three feet tall; there was a cracked mask upon her head, and a pleading, childlike expression on her face. "Is that… where Itsygo is?"

"Kurosaki?" Grimmjow spoke up suddenly and a sadistic smile sank onto his lips. He gave a short chortle before leaping to his feet. "Yes Nel, that is where Ichigo will be." He licked his lips. "And that's where I'm going to go. I'll beat the shit out of that guy, and then I'll have that woman heal him so I can do it again." Bounding to the north, he headed towards the black portal.

"Wait, Grimmjow, there's something you should-"

"Shut up Squint," the blue haired hollow growled. "I'm tired of hearin' ya, so do us all a favor and shut your trap." Szayel glared, but said nothing else. With a swift smile back at the rest of the group, Grimmjow fearlessly stuck a foot into the opening and promptly disappeared. Nel watched him, eyes wide, before dashing after him. She too disappeared into the hole.

Harribel turned back to Szayel.

"What is it you were going to warn him about?" she questioned patiently, apparently not at all phased by Grimmjow's lack of manners.

"I was going to warn him that these are no ordinary portals between our worlds," he pressed his glasses back up on his nose. He appeared exasperated with the lack of intelligent beings around him. "Like I said, we're caught in limbo. When Aizen changed us using the Hogyoku, he gave us more human like characteristics. Therefore we are caught between being humans and being hallow. I have a theory that whichever portal we step through will become us. The northern one will turn us into humans; the southern will return us to the forms we inhabited before Aizen changed us."

"Hahaha," Nnoitra laughed, his wide, toothy smile spreading across his face. "I wish I could see Grimmjow's face when he shows up on Earth as a human. He'll be practically powerless."

Harribel ignored her counterparts comment. She really couldn't stand number five.

"So we have to make a choice then," she was pondering. "Either we return to what we were or embrace what the Hogyoku unintentionally gave us." The silence confirmed her assessment. "To be a human… to be so weak…"

"I ain't doin' it," Nnoitra frowned. "I refuse to be… _human_…" he said the word as if it were parasitic. "I'd rather go back, at least then I'll have a fighting chance at getting back to how I am now." Turning, the gangly Espada stomped towards the south gate.

"I agree with him," Yammy laughed. "Become a human, yeah right!" He continued laughing boisterously as he stomped away.

"With Aizen gone," Baraggan stood, his bone throne shattering as he did, "I can return to my previous position as the Hollow King. I will rebuild Las Noches and everything we lost. Aizen's disgraceful endeavors must be erased from Las Noches." Nodding, the old man turned and followed the other two.

"I refuse to become such a filthy, useless being," Zommari curled his lip in disgust. "I will return to my lower form, rather that then a human." Shaking his bald, spiked head, the dark man turned to the south.

"Hmmm," the ninth Espada turned to the south to follow his brothers, he offered no explanation.

"Well I don't know about the four of you, but I have no intention of becoming a useless, lowly human," Szayel giggled merrily and flipped his pink hair back out of his face. "I have no desire to become a lesser being, but if there is no choice then I will choose the stronger, more perfect of the two." With a wave of his fingers, the scientist turned on his heel and headed towards Las Noches.

"They cleared out pretty fast," Starrk yawned.

"Yes," Harribel agreed absentmindedly. There was silence before the blonde woman turned to her lazier, sitting counterpart. "Where will you go Starrk?" The brunette frowned and slowly stood.

"He's going to go back to Las Noches of course!" Lilynette exclaimed and pulled on the taller mans sleeve, intent on directing him towards the south entrance. But she was unable to budge her other half. "Starrk!" she whined, "_C'mon_!"

He sighed. "Hueco Mundo is awfully boring Lilynette," he brooded. "And I see no point in returning there, nothing waits for us." The small blonde appeared completely shocked and was about to object, but Starrk quickly hefted her up onto his shoulder and turned to the north. Pausing before the entrance, he turned his head over his shoulder and stared back at Harribel, forcefully ignoring all of Lilynette's screaming protests.

"I suppose I'll see you there Harribel?" He smirked and didn't wait for a response before stepping through the portal. He vanished into darkness.

Harribel stared at the gaping hole, her thoughts racing through her head at a million miles a minute. She couldn't make sense of any of them; she had too many questions and no answers. She wasn't like Starrk, she couldn't be indifferent and go with the punches as they came. She didn't want to live with the regret if being a human was worse than…

"What will _you_ do?" She turned to her final companion. He didn't face either portal, in fact he hadn't been responding to their conversation at all. He'd stood there, staring at nothing the entirety they'd been there. Harribel couldn't see his face, but even if she could, she doubted she'd be able to read anything from him. He was so empty. Would he care either way? Or would he just remain in limbo forever? She envisioned that he could do so. To spend eternity in thought. Yes, he could live with that.

But did he want to?

"I should have known you wouldn't answer. You were never much of a talker were you? Aizen favored you, and then he betrayed you, he betrayed us all. How did that make you feel?" The blonde laughed. "That is, if you felt anything at all. You're such a stone all the time. I don't know how you do it." Strolling towards him, she rounded his stoic figure until she faced him. "I know I never could, I'm far too…" She furrowed her eyebrows; confusion clouding her thoughts before shock quickly sharpened them. Stepping towards her last companion, she placed her thin fingers on his chin and lifted it. Forest green eyes met her sea-foam ones, and her jaw dropped at what she saw.

She'd never seen him like this before. So confused, so unsure, so… emotional. His gaze was full of questions, mimicking hers, but she had no answers for him either. Yet she had no idea what had caused this change in him. His expression still remained the stone it had always had been, but his eyes…

"Perhaps… perhaps you are not so empty after all," she murmured, "Ulquiorra." She removed her hand from his face and took a step back. "Perhaps I cannot answer your questions, but you have helped me with mine. There are no answers in Hueco Mundo. I will find nothing there, other than fighting and the constant thirst for souls, two things I think I can gladly live without." She turned to stare at the northern gate again. "I don't know what I'll do there, but Starrk is there, and Lilynette. Nel too… and Grimmjow." She laughed nervously, her stomach turning in knots as the gate continued to loom before her. "I refuse to be scared of the unknown, and I have no desire to return to what I _do_ know. And who can tell, perhaps those invaders can help us. Those shinigami and those humans… and maybe us ex-hollows could make our own little family, like those intruders did… like what I had before with…" She shook her head and turned back to the black haired Espada staring at her.

Cocking her head to the side, Harribel smiled softly, "And Orihime Inoue will be there." She smiled wider beneath her mask; she'd finally managed to pull a reaction out of him, even if it was only a slight widening of his eyes. She'd suspected as much. Only a woman could change a man as much as Ulquiorra had changed.

"Well I suppose stalling won't do much good," sighing, the blonde walked to the opening. She stared down into it, but saw nothing other than blackness. "Are you coming?" She turned to the fourth Espada and was surprised to see him already trailing after her. But unlike she, he didn't pause before the abyss. He simply walked into it and vanished.

Scoffing, Harribel shook her head at her own cowardice. She was the third Espada, what was there to be afraid of?

Oh yeah, being human.

She stepped into the void.

**oOo**

"Well if you hadn't been so adamant about spilling blood, you wouldn't be in this predicament," Harribel scolded as she watched Grimmjow have a mental breakdown right before her eyes. He stood, gaping like an idiot, in the middle of the alley they had been deposited in. Continually flexing his muscles, the look of utter disbelief was growing more imbedded into his visage by the second.

"This… this can't be, this isn't possible," he whispered as he stared down at his hand. "I feel so… so…"

"Human?" Harribel offered, mocking evident in her voice. "Yes, well, had you shut your mouth and opened your ears for once you would have heard what Szayel had to say. He explained that we would be turned into humans via the northern portal right after you jumped through it." The sixth Espada turned sharply to glare at the woman reprimanding him, but felt too weak to do anything about it. He felt so squishy and vulnerable. Human's were so… defenseless. He couldn't live like this, there had to be a way to get back to Hueco Mundo.

"Well… now what do we do?" Starrk questioned lazily, ignoring Grimmjow's gaping fish face. He turned to Harribel and waited expectantly for her to deliver an answer. The blonde frowned.

"Hmm," she crossed her arms under her breasts. "I suppose we have to start our lives as humans, but… how exactly do we do that? We don't know anything about the day to day lives of humans." Grimmjow sank to the ground in despair as he reached up to caress his hollow mask, but found nothing other than soft human flesh and cheek.

"I might be able to help you with that." Jumping, the six ex-Espada's turned to a soft voice at the end of the deserted alleyway where they had been dropped. "There are a few faces here that I'm surprised to see, didn't think some of you would be interested in the lives of humans." Smiling, the man placed his cane on his shoulder and clicked his way closer to them, his sandals the only sound echoing between the buildings.

"Who are you?" Harribel demanded and slowly moved into an offensive position. She felt slow and weak, but she wasn't about to turn tail and run either.

"Me?" The man laughed. "I'm just a lowly Candy Salesman." His grin vanished and he became suddenly serious. "Actually that was a lie." Harribel glared at him. "My name is Urahara Kisuke, and I want to help you."

"Help us?" Lilynette scoffed. "How could you possi-"

"Shut up Lilynette," Starrk hissed. The little girl glanced up at him, apparently wanting to protest, but decided against it when she saw the serious look in his blue-gray eyes. "I know who you are," he addressed the man before them. "You're the ex-captain of Squad 12. You fought against Aizen… and you are the man who created the Hogyoku."

"Ding, ding, ding, 3 points to the observant ex-Espada," Urahara grinned again and pulled his striped bucket hat lower on his forehead. "But don't worry, I'm not going to turn you all in to soul society or anything. Like I said, I want to help you."

Harribel withdrew from her offensive pose, staring at the green glad man before her curiously. "Why would you want to help us? If anything, you should see us as enemies. What are your motives?"

"Your right, I should see you as my enemies, at least that's what soul society would expect," he stopped in his approach and stared evenly at them. "Good thing my loyalties don't lie with soul society anymore." Harribel didn't seem convinced.

"You fought against us during the war; you are obviously in league with them to a certain extent."

"Yes, well, when the world is at stake we all make alliances where we typically wouldn't. It's not that I hate soul society, but I do currently work outside of them," he held up a finger, "therefore, I have no obligation to report you to them." He smiled wider. "Besides, you're all humans, you're hardly a threat." Grimmjow growled at this statement, but remained silent after a hard look from Starrk.

"That still doesn't explain your reason for wanting to help us," Harribel persisted. Urahara frowned.

"Yes, well, you see," the blonde man gulped and turned from them. "I was the one who created the Hogyoku, and I'm the one that started the Hollowfication research. Had it not been for me, Aizen would have had nothing to work with. And because he had the Hogyoku, he was able to bend the line between hollows, humans, and shinigami, creating you." He returned his gaze to them. "I suppose you could say I feel a little guilty, and I knew that when the Hogyoku was destroyed, its power over all of you would dissolve, thus leaving you where you are. I recognized, after seeing you all in combat, that some of you showed more human like qualities than others, so I assumed that when the choice was presented to you, some of you would choose to be humans. And seeing as none of you have any idea how to conduct yourselves in the human world, I knew that should I let you roam free, the odds of you destroying what chances you have here were… rather high."

Harribel took a deep breath. "So let me get this straight, you want to help us because you feel guilty about what Aizen did to us?" The man in the hat seemed thoughtful before shrugging his shoulders and nodding.

"The human world is a complicated place and unless you can adapt to it, you will end up in… uncomplimentary circumstances. You are not the powerful beings you once were; you cannot fight and kill and force and get away with it. You must learn the social expectations, what is acceptable and what is not, before you stand a chance in the real world."

"And you want to teach us this?" Starrk slowly raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

"I'm willing, yes," the blonde man sighed. "It's not fair to you, to be thrown into this world without any idea of how to handle it. I'll teach you and help you find a place here." Grimmjow growled, obviously sulking. Apparently he didn't want to find his place as a human.

"There is no way to reverse this?" the blue haired man questioned.

"Unfortunately no," the ex-captain appeared thoughtful. "Though when you die there is a very high chance you will become a shinigami. But that's a long time from now I hope."

"It doesn't have to be," Grimmjow crossed his arms over his chest. "And I think you're lying Clogs. Ichigo Kurosaki is a human, a shinigami, and a hallow. How did he do it? If he can start out as a human and become what he is, then so can I."

Urahara seemed skeptical. "Yes, Ichigo did do those things, but he did them at great risk. If things hadn't gone as well as they did, he would have turned into a mindless hallow and had to be killed. You could try that same process if you wish, but in your… current state you would probably fail. Then you would be back where you started, a mindless, hungry monster with no reason for existence. A menos, or perhaps even lower." Silence. "I believe you feel that is an even worse fate then being human?" Growling in protest, the sixth Espada grabbed his hair and pulled forcefully in frustration.

"Well then I'll die and go to soul society and-"

"And what?" Urahara was growing impatient with this blue haired idiot. "Get into Shino Academy, get seen by a captain, and get forcefully displaced? Do you know what fate awaits you if soul society finds you? Your spiritual pressure is weak now because of your human form, and for that you should be thankful. It's already inevitable that your reiatsu rise eventually, so why not put it off as long as possible so soul society can calm down about this whole mess. It doesn't matter if you're a human or not, in the current state of political affairs, you will be quickly silenced if discovered, put away forever where you could never threaten anyone. Is that what you want? Or are you so driven by your pride and your blood thirst to see clearly?" Grimmjow's face had paled slightly. "I've seen the way you fight and the way you think Grimmjow, and I think it's safe to assume that Ichigo had some sort of influence on you. And I know you fear death, you fear being shut up forever. You have more human qualities than you care to admit, so sit back and be patient. You'll have the chance for your revenge eventually, that I can assure you. But don't throw your life away before you have the chance."

He received no reply as the facts of their situation slowly sank in. Just because they were humans didn't mean they weren't still a threat. Soul Society would quickly dispose of them if they were discovered. And if they didn't learn how to be humans, to be accepted by society, they _would_ be discovered.

"I suppose we have no choice," Starrk sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "We have to accept your assistance or risk being captured."

"What if this is a trap?" Lilynette put her hands on her hips and stared up at her other half, waiting for a reply to her impatience.

"I don't think it is," he drawled. "This man obviously knows how powerless we are. If he'd wanted us captured he would have simply told soul society where to find us." They seemed to consider their situation, but most came to the conclusion that they had little choice.

"So is that a yes?" Urahara was smiling again as the group slowly nodded. "Good! Then, let us begin."

**oOo**

"Man, I can't believe there's only a week left of summer break," Keigo slammed his head on the table and closed his eyes miserably. "This is so unfair. I mean it's barely been enough time to give my brain a rest. I'll be burnt out by the end of the first month at this rate." He started whimpering, his shoulder length brown hair pooling around his face.

"Seriously, I hate school," Renji whined and leaned back against the tree he was sitting beneath, his head turned towards the leaves above him.

"Then go back to Soul Society," Ichigo replied shortly. He was tired of hearing the two of them complain all the time. School wasn't that bad, they were just idiots.

"Can it Ichigo, you know that if I could I would," the redhead shot back. "I hate this goddamn place. But you heard the commander. Rukia and I are supposed to stay here until the Spiritual Pressure in Karakura returns to normal. There's still a high number of hallows penetrating the-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, so shut up already," Ichigo replied sourly and sank down into the grass. He was fully capable of handling the hallow population, he didn't need Renji. Yes, he did in fact take their assignment as a personal insult.

"I hate it when you guys talk about work," Keigo continued to whine.

"Shut up Keigo," Ichigo and Renji shouted at the same time.

"My my, tempers certainly are running high this morning," Rukia muttered as she, Orihime, Tatski, and Uryu approached the group sitting around the picnic table beneath a large, leafy tree.

"Took you guys long enough," Ichigo muttered from his spot in the grass. "Now where is Chad?"

"He called me earlier," Uryu began as he pushed his glasses farther up on the bridge of his nose, "and said that he was going to be late." The Quincy shrugged his shoulders, that was all the information he had. "So I guess we can move out since Mizuiro is meeting us at the beach."

"Finally!" Keigo exclaimed and jumped to his feet.

"Hey Ichigo," Renji slung his arm around his friends shoulders as they began walking. The Strawberry scowled, he knew what was coming. "You think I could stay at your house again tonight? Urahara is-"

"-Doing some kind of crazy ass experiment? I know. You ask me every other day if you can stay over, and my dad 'never turns a fellow shinigami away.' I'd say no, you couldn't stay, but-"

"-That's not your call," Renji finished with a grin before slapping his host on the back. "Just thought I'd be polite and ask."

"Well that's a change from last week," the orange haired teenager muttered as they made their way through the crowded streets of Karakura. "You ever figure out what he's been doing for the past year?"

"No," Renji huffed. "He won't tell me, won't even hint at it, and he put a seal on the door to his underground training area. No one can get in other than him, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu. I bet he's doing something illegal."

Ichigo shrugged. "Probably," he agreed and resituated his bag on his shoulder.

"Are you two coming, you're way behind!" Orihime yelled up ahead of them where the majority of the group had amassed together to stare back at them. The robust teenage girl waved dramatically and jumped up and down. Ichigo and Renji raised their eyebrows simultaneously and jogged to catch up.

"Are you two done arguing?" Rukia inquired as they continued down the sidewalk. "I swear, I get so sick and tired of hearing you guys yelling at each other every other night. I don't know why Isshin doesn't split you two up."

Ichigo snorted. "I don't know either."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Renji shoved his "roommate" between the shoulder blades, sending the lighter boy tumbling forward. Yelling in surprise, Ichigo turned, baring his teeth at the redhead.

"What the hell Renji?" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna kick your-"

"Orihime?" Rukia shoved the two men apart as she made her way to the back of the group. "Orihime, what's wrong?" She placed her hand on the taller girls shoulder. "What are you staring at?" None of them had realized it, but their upbeat friend had paused to stare across the busy street. She remained transfixed, her mouth falling open.

"I thought…" she put her hand to her chest subconsciously, her lavender purple shirt gripped between her fingers. "I thought I saw… but there's no way..." Her voice was only just above a whisper and Rukia cocked her head to the side, a questioning expression stretched across her sharp features.

But just as suddenly as the burnt redhead had been distracted, she was back to her peppy self. Her gray eyes a mask to them all. She was happy again, set to default. "Never mind," she smiled down at Rukia. "I thought I saw someone familiar, but I was wrong, don't worry." She skipped to front of the line. "Let's hit the beach!" Ichigo glanced at Renji who could only shrug.

None of them missed her glancing back down the street, her shirt still clutched between pale knuckles.

**oOo**

"Don't forget to look both ways before crossing the street!" Karin rolled her eyes and shook her head, her black hair swishing just below her line of vision. "And don't take candy from strangers." Her fists clenched at her sides. "Don't walk under any ladders!" The vein in her forehead began throbbing. "And don't open any umbrel-"

"We get it goat beard!" she had turned and was pointing accusingly at the Kurosaki clinic across the street. "So go back inside and out of sight!" Yuzu frowned next to her sister, apparently not approving of her verbal abuse. But their father got the message and after frowning, he turned and walked back inside their house.

Karin huffed and turned on her heel.

"Was that really necessary?" her blonde sister inquired as she trailed behind, a large cake decorated with strawberries, blueberries, and frosting flowers held tightly in her grasp. "I mean he was only worried."

"He was being an idiot," Karin snapped and resituated her baseball cap on her head. "Besides, he was probably irritating all the neighbors." Yuzu sighed at her sister's reasons, all the neighbors knew what to expect from their father already.

The softer spoken if the two decided to change the subject.

"Do you think they'll like this cake?" she inquired and jogged up to meet her sister on the rougher girl's right. "I mean, what if they turn us away at the door. What if they think we're weird? What if they don't like us?"

"Calm down Yuzu," Karin sighed. "Your cake is perfect, turning us away at the door would be rude, and if they don't like us then it's their loss, not ours." The blonde sighed and nodded her head in understanding.

"I hope they're nice. We don't get knew neighbors very often," Yuzu stared fondly down at her cake. "Maybe there will be someone our age. You think?"

"I don't know, so why think about it?" Karin drawled and placed her hands behind her head as she walked, a seemingly content look across her face. "And I would hardly call them neighbors; they're across the street and seven houses down. The only reason we do this for any new people on the street is so that we can tell them where the clinic is if they need it. Don't get your hopes, it's usually old people."

"I know," Yuzu huffed, a frown pulling her lips down at an awkward angle. Karin gave her a sympathetic look before shrugging and continuing on down the sidewalk. It wasn't long before they reached the infamous house. Upon finding it, they paused and glanced up, surveying the area.

It was obvious they were still in the middle of unpacking. Boxes littered the yard, some opened, some closed, some only part way there. There was a large pile of empty boxes in the middle, apparently they were the ones that had already been emptied.

But there was no one in sight.

"Oh man," Yuzu bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "I bet they took a break to eat dinner. I knew we should have come earlier. Oh Karin, what if we're interrupting them." The dark haired twin sighed and shook her head at her sisters silly worrying. She was sure they wouldn't mind.

"Just c'mon Yuzu, they've probably already seen us." She grabbed her sister by the elbow and began leading her up the sidewalk towards the front door. Hopping up the steps, Karin wasted no time in ringing the doorbell. She remained unenthused and waited.

It wasn't long before the door swung open with an impatient yank.

"Wadday-want?" was the greeting they received. Karin saw Yuzu visually shrink before the blue haired man in the doorway, but Karin was determined to hold her ground no matter how much he glared at her.

Crossing her arms, the dark haired Kurosaki twin glowered right back.

"I'm Karin and this is my sister Yuzu," she replied shortly. The man raised one blue eyebrow above on his piercing blue gaze, but still Karin remained unfazed. "Our family owns the clinic down the street and we thought you should know." She paused, waiting for a reaction, but got none. The man still appeared unimpressed. Yuzu raised the cake above her head like a peace offering and Karin huffed. "Also, we brought you a cake."

That pulled a reaction out of him.

"Cake?" he reached out a long arm and lifted the cake pan from Yuzu's outstretched hands. "Cool." The cake vanished.

And the door was slammed in their faces.

Karin felt the vein in her forehead throbbing dangerously against her skull as Yuzu stared bewilderedly at her empty palms, her mouth agape. Yet, despite their obviously confusion, the large white door remained closed.

Karin glared dangerously at the tall wooden slab, her hands balling into fists again.

"I can't believe that guy," she hissed and had every intention of finding an open window to yell through. She wanted their cake pan back and he should know it, stupid blue haired pussy. She'd put him in his place, that was for sure. "Didn't even say thank you," she growled. "Well I'll let him know who he's dealing with!" She raised her fist to bang on the door, but was held back when Yuzu grabbed her arm.

"I don't know Karin," she interjected nervously. "That guy was pretty big. Maybe we should just wait until Ichi gets back from the beach." Karin glared at her sister.

"I don't need him to knock the snot out that blue haired freak," she yanked her arm free of Yuzu's grasp and readied herself once again to bang on the door. But just as she was about to, it swung open once again, causing both girls to squeak and jump back.

"Oh good, you're still hear," she was tall, very pretty, blonde, tan, and very well endowed in the chest. She crossed her arms below her breasts and smiled, crinkling her blonde eyelashes around her green eyes. Her white skirt ruffled in the light breeze and her pale pink tank top was worn and loose from a hard day moving boxes. Karin took note of her bare feet and their shiny, gold painted nails.

Yuzu grinned and jumped forward, "Hello!" Yes, this woman was definitely someone the lighter of the twins could warm up to.

The woman's smile faltered and she sighed. "I want to apologize for Grimmjow's rudeness. I don't know what to say, he's just… well he's Grimmjow. Please don't hold it against him; I don't think he realizes when he'd being an idiot." The woman shook her head.

"That's alright," Yuzu chimed and Karin rubbed the toe of her shoe on the ground uncomfortably. "We were just dropping by to say hello since you all just moved in. I'm Yuzu, and this is my twin sister Karin. We own the small clinic down the street."

"Well I'm glad to meet you," she appeared sincere. "It's nice to know we have such thoughtful neighbors. My name is Tia Harribel." She smiled again, that soft, sincere, honest smile, and Yuzu was automatically drawn closer. Karin only felt all the more awkward.

"Is Grimmjow… your son?" Yuzu was always curious and Karin cursed her for meddling in other people's lives, she was as bad as Goat-beard.

Harribel laughed. "Well… I guess you could say that." Yuzu cocked her head curiously and the woman appeared suddenly uncomfortable. Her gaze drifted to the floor.

"Who's there?" Karin and Yuzu jumped again as a blonde head emerged around the blonde woman. Soon it developed into a shorter body holding a glass of milk. She took a gulp, puffed out her cheeks like a fish, and surveyed them. Karin glared at her and she glared back. Had the darker twin not been in better control, she would have reached up and slapped her hands to the girl's cheeks, causing milk to spray all over. And as if reading her thoughts, the girl swallowed.

"These are some of our neighbors, Yuzu and Karin," Harribel replied. The blonde girl gave them each one last look over before apparently finding them adequate.

"I'm Lilynette, nice to meet ya," she shoved her hand out to them and Karin quickly took it in her own, shaking it twice before dropping it. "Did you guys bring that cake? I had some; pretty good though Grimmjow stole most of it, dragged it up to his room. Prick." Harribel stared disapprovingly down at the shorter female; apparently she wasn't impressed with the girl's vocabulary.

Karin, on the other hand, was warming up to the blonde girl more and more. She looked tough sporting a pair of holy jeans, tennis shoes, a black t-shirt, and a white zipper sweatshirt with a black strip down the right side. And they appeared to be about the same age to top it off.

"You play soccer?" Karin inquired the younger girl and she received a scoff in return.

"Never played in my life, but it looks easy so I bet I could do it," she sniffed and rubbed her finger below her nose, her gaze going to the sky arrogantly. Karin grinned wickedly.

"Yeah right," she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's harder than it looks, I could beat you down no problem." Lilynette glared at Karin and Karin glared at Lilynette. But there was an excitement in the darker Kurosaki's eyes.

"Bring in then," Lilynette vanished momentarily and returned with a brand new soccer ball. "I'll beat you with my eyes closed." Karin laughed.

"Fine, let's go," and with that both girls ran off the steps and into the front yard where Karin commenced in teaching the blonde tomboy how to properly play the sport of soccer.

Harribel smiled and glanced down at Yuzu.

"Are you going to join them?" the blonde woman inquired and Yuzu sighed.

"No, I'll just watch, I don't play soccer," it was obvious by the patient yet irritated expression on her face that watching Karin play soccer was not something she enjoyed currently.

"Well I'm glad you came by," Harribel continued, she wanted to lift the girl's spirits as it was apparent she would be sitting on their porch watching for some time. "I'm sure Lilynette likes having someone her own age around." Yuzu glanced back up at the radiantly golden woman.

"Well she has you so that's better than nothing, right?" Harribel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she pondered the little girl's word. But after a few seconds she realized what Yuzu was referring to. It must be that the two girls assumed Harribel was Lilynette's mother in some fashion or another.

That was what Urahara wanted people to think though, right? That Harribel was the woman of the house, the mother, the caretaker? It fit well into the general society's stereotype and she was more than willing to take up the role. Starrk was gone a lot now, off traveling and working (despite his opposition to moving away from the couch, but he was the only one other than herself that appeared old enough to have entered the working force, and they had to make money somehow). Grimmjow was a delinquent that constantly needed to be reprimanded. Nel needed an adult to keep track of her. Lilynette needed someone to take Starrk's place, a parental figure, when he was away. And Ulquiorra, well, Ulquiorra needed an atmosphere where he could learn to be more open. All these things Harribel had learned over the course of the year they had spent with Urahara, and this was the first day she was able to fully try and implement her plans to make them a family.

Thus far she had failed.

Grimmjow was still rude and unruly despite Urahara's warning about trying to blend in. Nel was running rampant through the house, hiding in boxes. Harribel had lost track of her. Ulquiorra was gone, ignoring them in favor of walking around and examining the general populace. Lilynette was of no help and had an attitude that Harribel would like to smack out of her, and Starrk was sleeping on the couch, refusing to help with the unpacking because he was "too tired" after having returned from overseas the day before.

Needless to say, the former third Espada was about to flip her sanity lid, and she still had to go up to the shop and get things ready for opening day!

But having her around was better for Lilynette than "nothing" huh? That was what she had to keep telling herself. They needed her, and she needed them, whether they liked it or not.

"I mean," Yuzu continued after Harribel had given no reply. "I know what it's like to lose a mom, but I always had Karin, so we were never really alone. And we had onii-san too, but it's never quite the same. She's lucky to have you," the little girl grinned though her eyes were sad. Harribel frowned. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose anyone in their makeshift family. She had grown rather fond of everyone, even Grimmjow. The year they'd spent together, constantly in each other's presence, had revealed things about their characters that would have otherwise remained buried.

Harribel, however, was the only one that could yet admit she loathed to lose any of them, well, aside from Nel. But she had faith that soon the others would start to realize what they had, and would value it as well.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she murmured to the young girl who only shrugged and grinned wider.

"Don't be," she assured. "I mean, I hated losing my mother, but I don't know who I would be now if she were still alive. And I like who I've become. My dad and older brother would be hopeless without me. I do all the cooking and cleaning because daddy is constantly busy running the clinic. And onii-san is always gone, he disappears a lot, does some… strange things, but I know he only does what he feels he has too. And there's another girl that lives with us, she's a friend of my older brothers. She's helped a lot since she came," the little girl sighed and Harribel smiled, she was enjoying hearing about this interesting family. "And then there's this other guys who stays over all the time since… well something happened and now he goes back and forth between our house and someone else's. He sleeps in onii-san's room on the floor, and they fight all the time, but I know they're really good friends, maybe even best friends."

"Your family sounds very interesting," the third Espada stated.

"Yeah, they're pretty loud and my dad is pretty obnoxious, but we're always there for each other no matter what. That's what I like about my family. We don't always get along, but when it counts we're always ready to help."

That was what Harribel wanted her family to be like. She was comforted to know that she wasn't alone in her mismatched family. This little girl lived in a world much the same, yet she was still happy. It was reassuring to know that things could work out no matter how much was laid against you.

"You said you do all the cooking?" Harribel asked. She didn't want the conversation to end, that would only make things awkward. "Did you make that cake that Grimmjow stole then?" She nodded enthusiastically. "That's quite an accomplishment," the older woman sighed. "I'm a terrible cook, most of the time everyone just raids the fridge and goes off by themselves."

"Well that's not very…" Yuzu was very family oriented, and the thought of this family never spending time together depressed her. Dinner was the perfect event for family bonding. And it also gave her an idea. She liked this woman, a lot actually, and it was obvious that Karin was going to be busy for a while. "If you want, I mean, I know I'm only thirteen and I know you're an adult and all, but I can teach you some stuff. I had to learn to cook by myself and it's hard that way. I don't mean to intrude or anything but-"

"You're not intruding," Harribel assured, "I'd love that, cooking is something new to me, so having any kind of help would be lovely." Yuzu clapped her hands together happily as the woman smiled down at her. She loved this woman's smile, the way her whole face lit up and the way her eyes smiled too. It reminded her of…

"If you want, we can do something now since your sister is busy," Harribel offered and Yuzu nodded enthusiastically. That was what she was hoping would happen. "I don't know how much food we have in the house though, seeing as we just got here this morning." Beckoning Yuzu after her, the tall woman glided inside, her white skirt flowing out behind her.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Oui, I know this chapter just kind of, ya know, cut off, but I had to end it sometime. I think it's safe to assume the next chapter will be posted quickly as I'm already writing it.

Anyway, I know some of you are probably disappointed, there was absolutely no Ulquihime, but this was kind of an introductory chapter. Plus, I've realized that this story is going to be about more than just those two. It's about "family" and "friendship" and "_love_" and all those other mushie things. Granted, there will be a lot of Ulquihime, I promise, but there will be Ichiruki too and some other couples along with lots of other fun stuff.

Also, just so you all know, Harribel is not just some motherly push over. Yes, she may appear that way in this chapter, but she's not, she's just trying to get "settled in." I didn't really realize how big a part she would play in this chapter, but I think she's a good character to start out with. Hopefully no one hates her cuz I likes her. She'll be beating up on Grimmjow soon enough though.

Okay, I'm done talking now, this chapter is long, hope you all enjoyed, if not, sorry, but I don't care.


	2. Long Gone Regrets

**The Definition of Love**

_"To a place I **recall**_  
_I was there so **long ago**_  
_The sky was bruised_  
_The wine was bled_  
_And there you lead me on_

_In your **house** I **long** to be_  
_Room by room patiently_  
_I'll wait for you there like a stone_  
_I'll wait for you there **alone**, **alone**_

_And on I read_  
_Until the day was gone_  
_And I sat in **regret**_  
_Of all the things I've done"_

**_Like a Stone - Audioslave _**

**Chapter 2: Long Gone Regrets  
**

"I'm sure you have something," Yuzu replied positively as she followed the older woman into the house. "You'd be surprised what you could make out of what everyone else says is nothing." Glancing around curiously, the young blonde girl let her senses take in everything about the house.

The first thought that ran through her head was how much bigger on the inside it was then it looked. The entrance was small and condensed, and through a broad doorway after that was the kitchen to the left. To the right were closed double doors. The ceiling in these areas was fairly low, but straight ahead, just past the end of the kitchen, the white plaster ceiling disappeared, opening up into a huge sunlit space with floor to ceiling windows. From the outside, it had appeared to be two stories, but this room took up all the vertical space, there were no rooms above it. Beyond the window lay a large yard surround by trees to block out the view of the city beyond.

The walls and ceiling were decorated in a western style, large logs and planks of bloodwood acting as the supports and siding. The carpet was short and eggshell white, the furniture, though not organized yet, a tint lighter and made up of two sofas and two recliners. The tables and wooden accessories were similar to the bloodwood in color though a little lighter, perhaps redwood? A large LCD television stood at one end of the room, still covered in bubble wrap, and a few boxes still plagued the area.

Flower petals littered the soft carpet, and Yuzu gaped.

It wasn't the furniture or the view or the expensive style of the house that caught her attention. No, it was the array of flowers set up at one end of the room. Dozens of arrangements occupied the right corner, some in pots, some in bouquets, some just laying alone, a pair of scissors next to them and a few shreds of pink ribbon.

"Wow," was all Yuzu could say in response.

"I know, it's a mess," Harribel laughed nervously as she swept some rose petals off to the side with her foot. "Normally I wouldn't want to bring my work home, but with the store in more disarray than this place, I didn't really have a choice. And the boxes," she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "they're everywhere."

Yuzu approached the flowers cautiously. There were so many.

"Do you… own a flower shop?" She turned around to face Harribel who stood in the middle of the tall room before the windows. A small blossom rested in Yuzu's hands, a deep pink Dahlia. It took up the majority of her palms and she could feel the smooth tip of the stem rub against her fingers where its head had been forcefully severed.

"Yes," she sighed. "I was going to try and open tomorrow, but progress is slower than I had originally anticipated," pausing, the third Espada turned and stared disapprovingly at the snoring man occupying the longest couch. Yuzu couldn't see his face, his arm was thrown across it lazily, but he had thick brown hair and was wearing dark blue slacks, a white button up shirt, and black socks. "I probably won't even get over to the shop until morning, and even then it will take me half the morning to get these arrangements set up. By the time I do they'll probably be wilted."

"I can help you!" The younger of the two women blurted out before she could stop herself. She blushed. "I mean, that is, if you'll let me." Harribel cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms beneath her breasts, a small smile growing across her lips.

"You're quite the volunteer," she stated and Yuzu's flush deepened.

"Well, I love to cook so…" she stared down at the pink flower in her hands. "And my mom, she… she used to have flowers in the house all the time before she died. I don't remember much, but when I do think about her I always envision her surrounded by soft pink roses." Staring expectantly up at the tanned woman, Yuzu tried to hide her pleading expression. "My mom used to know a lot about flowers. I'd like to learn something too."

Harribel chuckled lightly. "Well if you're really that determined I suppose I can't turn you down. But it's summer; don't you have more fun things to do?"

"No!" she blurted out and gripped the flower in her hands tighter. A few petals fell to the floor and she immediately loosened her hold, a frown creasing her soft features. Harribel laughed again and shrugged.

"Well if you say so," the older woman started back tracking from the large room. "But if you're going to help me then you have to be punctual and hasty, and there is no whining." Yuzu nodded fiercely as she hopped after the tanned blonde. Her gaze fell momentarily on the sleeping man before drifting to the opposite side of the room where she spotted stairs. They ascended a few steps before angling to the left and vanishing behind a bloodwood wall. So there _was_ an upstairs to some parts of the house.

"I'll be here whenever you say ma'am," she assured and placed the flower carefully on a table sitting cockeyed by the edge of the carpet. Back in the kitchen area the floor became a thick bluish-gray stone that extended to the door. "Why did you start a flower business?"

"Well," Harribel paused before the counter along the wall of the kitchen. There sat a bouquet of soft orange and white flowers encompassed in a clear glass vase. "They're so vibrant and full of life, the flowers that is," she caressed the blossoms softly with her smooth hands, her well manicured nails flashing in the sunlight filtering through the window in the room behind them. "They are very much the opposite of the world I used to live in. It was so empty and barren. I love how much color and happiness they bring to the world."

Wringing her fingers together, Yuzu approached the woman slowly.

"Where did you live before?" Maybe she was asking too many questions, maybe she was in fact being ruder than the blue haired man from earlier, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She wanted to know more about this woman.

Harribel smiled softly down at the younger girl, "Nowhere you would know about, and nowhere you want to go." That was her simple answer. Yuzu's curiosity gnawed at her, but asking more about this subject would go beyond rude. She was letting her curiosity go, yes, but she didn't want to get on this woman's bad side. "That's enough about flowers though," she smiled brightly. "I thought you were going to help me cook. I have a lot of mouths to feed you know." Yuzu grinned.

"Well let's get started then!" Her curiosity would have to wait she supposed. "So long as you have basic cooking supplies we should be able to whip something up."

"Hmm," she was thoughtful, "I'm not sure that I have even those." Yuzu frowned. "Well, whatever we don't have we can send Grimmjow out to get," Yuzu jumped as the front door opened and closed. Turning, she was greeted with another man walking through the door. "Or Ulquiorra!" Harribel exclaimed. The man didn't reply, just stared at the two of them with empty eyes. He sported a black button up shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, revealing his pale, alabaster skin. Dark denim jeans hung from his hips, and all black converse ended his attire. His hair was black and shaggy, ending just above his shoulders. "Yuzu, this is Ulquiorra, Ulquiorra, this is Yuzu, she's one of our neighbors." The man stared at her speculatively for a few moments before mumbling something about how it was nice to meet her and shucking off his shoes at the door. As quickly as he had arrived he had vanished into the large, two story room. Yuzu could just barely hear his feet padding up the stairs to the second level.

"Is he… your son too?" He looked, like that Grimmjow character, to be about Ichigo's age.

"One might say that," she sighed as she stared after the boy, but shook her head a few seconds later and continued her search through the kitchen supplies. Yuzu frowned with concern, he was so pale. Was he really alright?

"So, like I said," Harribel drew the younger girl's attention back to her, "I'm a terrible cook, so I hope you have something in mind because I certainly don't." Smiling again, Yuzu bounded up next to her and smiled.

"Well that depends," she replied. "How many mouths do you indeed have to feed?"

"Six would be the total living under this roof," she affirmed. "Plus you and your sister make eight." Yuzu paused in thought before her grin widened. She was glad to have been included in the calculations and happy to accept the invitation.

"Well in that case I think a simple…"

**oOo**

"I-chi-GOOOO!" the orange haired shinigami ducked with ease as a white socked foot came hurtling towards his face. His father's welcome home kick was greeted by the drywall. Rukia and Renji stood a good distance behind their friend so was to avoid the dangerous physical abuse they knew had been coming as well.

Smashing into the wall, Isshin Kurosaki groaned and rolled around the floor, his foot gripped in his hands as he mumbled something about Ichigo's reflexes being better than he had originally anticipated. All three teenagers ignored him.

"How come I don't smell food?" Renji inquired curiously as he glanced around the kitchen. Normally this time of night there would be a rich spread laid out on the table, all of Yuzu's hard labor exhibited in a work of art that made their stomachs ache with hunger. But the room smelled only of emptiness.

Ichigo frowned.

"Where are Karin and Yuzu?" Rukia put her finger on her chin curiously.

"It's terrible!" Isshin had recovered and was prancing around the room in a frenzy of exaggerated emotion. "I got this terrible message only an hour ago." He was on the verge of sobbing as he bounded over to the answering machine and hit the play button. "I'd been in the clinic when she called." He looked as though the world were ending. "I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

The machine beeped loudly and Ichigo waited for the message to play.

"_One old message… message one – 'Hey guys, it's Karin. Yuzu and I are over at the new neighbors. Yuzu helped them make dinner while I played soccer with their daughter. They invited us to eat too so we'll be later than we thought...'_" There was a pause, "_'Oh, and Yuzu says there's leftovers from last night in fridge if you guys get hungry.'_" Click, the message ended.

Isshin began wailing dramatically in response to his daughter's monotonous message and surged over to the poster of Masaki Kurosaki plastered to the wall.

"Oh my beautiful wife, our daughters have abandoned us!" he sobbed. "They have found greener pastures beyond the embrace of their father's bosom. We have lost them forever!" he sank to the floor dramatically and Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"I'm not that hungry anyway," Renji stared uneasily at Isshin before creeping closer to his orange haired roommate. He whispered, "Dude, your dad is so fucked up, it's not even funny." Glaring at him, Ichigo punched the redhead in the shoulder before stomping up the stairs to his room.

Rubbing his shoulder, the redhead appeared clearly offended before her glanced over at Rukia in confusion. She only shook her head at him.

"I'm going to bed Renji, I'm exhausted," she yawned, almost as if to add effect, "and all the girls are going shopping early tomorrow so…" she shrugged and hefted her small frame up the stairs to Yuzu and Karin's room. Renji sighed and followed her up, leaving Isshin to ball his eyes out in the kitchen.

Knocking on the door twice, the redhead didn't wait for a reply before he entered Ichigo's room. The orange haired teenager was sitting on his bed, a book to his nose as he tried to forcefully ignore Renji's presence. The lieutenant rolled his eyes at the useless effort before plopping down on the comforter on the floor. His bedding was neatly laid out and he assumed Yuzu must have been in there cleaning earlier that day.

"Kon isn't here?" he inquired curiously and Ichigo shook his head. "Rukia's night to deal with him huh? I don't know why you don't just stick him in your dad's room, I'm sure they'd get along fine." Ichigo scoffed.

"Yeah right, dad would have ripped the stuffing out of him before the morning was over," the younger of the two shook his head. "Kon is ten times more annoying than my dad." Renji shrugged his shoulders and nodded in silent acknowledgment before glancing back at the door, almost as if he were making sure it was closed, before turning to once again face his roommate.

"So, speaking of Rukia-"

"- We weren't speaking of Rukia," Ichigo ground out testily.

"- why haven't you, ya know, made a move yet?" Ichigo slammed his book shut and glared at Renji, nostrils flaring. "Please Ichigo; don't look at me like that. We've been over this; I'm not as stupid as I look." The orange haired teenager growled and turned away from the redhead. Crossing his legs beneath him, he stared out the window, obviously disgruntled.

"Oh my god," Renji mumbled and rolled his eyes as he stared up at Ichigo's ceiling. "I don't know why you're in denial-"

"- I'm not in denial."

"- I mean, it's not like it isn't obvious that you're head over heels in lo-"

Ichigo turned to Renji and if looks could kill, the redhead would be on life-support. "I am _not_ in 'love' with **Rukia**!" he hissed before turning back to the window, his arms folded across his huffing chest. Renji sighed.

"Ya know Ichigo," the lieutenant scratched the inside of his ear, "the longer you wait around the higher the chance you'll lose her. I mean, she's a Kuchiki, granted not by blood but a Kuchiki nonetheless. She's in high demand. And you know Rukia, duty before anything else. If there's a proposal to her that could do the family good then you know she'd say yes, if only to please."

Ichigo stiffened momentarily before his whole body collapsed in defeat. He sighed.

"Yeah Renji, well what am I supposed to do, ask her to marry me? I'm only seventeen!" he rubbed his hand down face in frustration. "And that's another thing; you guys are over a hundred! I'm just a child by Shinigami standards. What would she want with me?"

"You know that's not true Ichigo," Renji stared sympathetically at his friend. "You've been through enough to be well beyond the age you are. No one thinks of you as a child. You've done too much for Soul Society to be viewed that way, you know that. You're a war hero for crying out loud! You're even in the new history books in Soul Society. That's proof enough of the respect that everyone has for you."

"Yeah well," Ichigo huffed angrily, "Rukia knew me when I _was_ a child, and I don't think her views of me have changed."

"Please," Renji scoffed, "her views of you were forever changed the day you rescued her from Soul Society. The only reason she treats you like you can't take two steps by yourself is because she's worried about you." Renji grinned. "And I don't blame her; you do some pretty cracked up, dumbass shit sometimes." Ichigo turned to his roommate, a smile gracing his lips momentarily before it fell once again into a frown. Renji followed suit. "In any case, Rukia's too insecure to make the first move, you have to. She never thinks she's good enough for anyone or anything, you know that."

Ichigo sighed.

"Why are you so worried about this anyway?" the strawberry asked curiously.

"Why?" the redhead rolled his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Because you two are my best friends, that's why. And I'll be damned if I sit here and let you screw up your lives."

"You just like playing matchmaker," Ichigo rolled his eyes and Renji shrugged and nodded.

"Well that too," the tattooed male grinned. "Besides, Rukia needs someone like you, and you need someone like her. You don't take any of her shit and she kicks you around when you need it." Renji cocked his head to the side smartly. "You two depend on each other more than you realize."

Ichigo snorted. "No, I realize," he added bitterly. "More than _you_ know. But what if… what if she doesn't… feel that way, I could destroy everything we have _now_. I'd rather have that then nothing at all."

"Jesus Ichigo," Renji sighed. "You sound like some dumbass, insecure school girl with a crush." Ichigo glared at the redhead again. "Be a man for once."

"I'm more if a man then you'll ever be," he replied quietly and fell silent. Renji didn't defend himself and as the silence between them started to grow into overly extensive lengths, two high pitched voices could be heard outside the window.

"Yuzu and Karin are home," the redhead stated into the empty air.

**oOo**

Shutting the door quietly and flicking the lock, Orihime heaved a sigh of relief and laid her purse down. Sand fell onto the counter from the impact and the exhausted girl frowned. She'd have to clean that up she supposed.

Shrugging, she decided to save it until later. She shucked off her sandals and stretched. The sun was setting outside and it cast a relaxing orange glow across her small apartment. The clock read 8:30 pm. They'd spent the whole afternoon at the beach. It had been nice having everyone together. It wouldn't be that way forever, she knew that, but how things would change she had no idea.

It had been a year since the war had ended. Soul society was still unstable politically. Once that problem was solved though, she didn't know what to expect. She knew that Rukia and Renji would go home eventually; all the captains had pretty much forgotten they were still in Karakura, or so the two claimed, and they had no immediate intentions of drawing their superiors' attention.

Would Soul Society want the rest of them to move there as well? She doubted it. But she didn't want to lose her shinigami friends either.

That was another issue. What would happen to Ichigo?

He was Shinigami, but he was a human too. And according to some he would be classified as a Hallow as well, something similar to an Espada. She knew they were keeping a watchful eye on him, but if they offered him a permanent resident in Soul Society, would he take it? She couldn't imagine that he would refuse. There was nothing here for him; all his ideals and dreams resided in Soul Society. Orihime could already tell that he was getting anxious and bored living a "normal" life again. He didn't have anything to occupy himself with, not anything that seemed to matter to him anyway.

That was kind of the reason why she had pushed her feelings for the Shinigami away, to the back of her mind. She knew she had to get over him. It's not that she feared he would reject her, no; it didn't have anything to with something like that. But she knew that if they did… become an "item," she'd be the one thing holding him back. She didn't want to be what tied him to this world; she didn't want him to put her before what he wanted out of life.

She wasn't a good fit for him anyway.

Orihime sighed and dragged herself to her bedroom.

It didn't matter how much she loved and admired Ichigo, the fact of the matter was that she didn't have the attitude to compliment his. She knew what would happen if they started dating, he would grow bored with her. It was already obvious when they talked that they weren't on the same wavelength. And that was okay.

But just because she was trying to get over him didn't mean she couldn't care for his wellbeing. She was starting to get really worried. The more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed Soul Society would welcome him as one of their own. Sure, most everybody there liked and admired him, they respected him and were grateful for his help, but the fact of the matter was that he was different. He was… a hallow as well as… everything else. Hallow's were a shinigami's worst enemies. Many would be prejudiced against him.

She felt so sorry for him. All he really wanted to be was a shinigami, but being a hallow gave him phenomenal power, and he wanted that too. He wanted to protect all the people he loved, all the people he knew, all the people in the world, and to do that he had to become stronger. But his strength would be viewed by many as unnatural, as dangerous. Like the Vizards, he could be alienated.

Orihime shook her head and grabbed a towel and pajamas from a laundry basket in her bedroom before heading to the bathroom.

Maybe she was just thinking about worst case scenarios again. It was just so sad, thinking about Ichigo being estranged from the very people, the very art, he admired so much. Would they just leave him in the human world? Ichigo wasn't like his father or Urahara, he couldn't live with that. Yet she could see Soul Society being that cruel. They would just wait for him to die, a possible threat finally gone without them having to intervene because… because they knew he would never betray them.

It didn't make any sense.

She was thinking too much again.

The teenage girl twisted the knob on her shower before quickly stripping down and jumping in. The warm water felt good in contrast with the salty sea she'd been swimming in all day. The grime was swiftly being flushed from her skin, and she reveled in the feeling of being clean.

How long would they have to wait if they were just going to ignore Ichigo? He was different from the rest of them; he was human as well as Shinigami. Would he live as long as the rest of them, or would his lifespan be nothing more than a passing day to them? Like her life, or Chad's or Uryu's?

Did the hallow inside of him have an effect on him as well? How long did hallow's live? Did they die from old age at all? Would Ichigo live forever?

Orihime felt like that was a daunting concept. She'd love to live as long as a shinigami, but living forever? That she didn't want to do. Eventually she'd be reborn in Soul Society, and sometime after that a human again with no memories of her past life. She looked forward to that, to new beginnings.

Man, she was getting a little too deep.

Shaking her head, she ran her fingers through her soft orange hair, pulling the knots out of it before applying abundant amounts of shampoo.

She hoped Soul Society would welcome Ichigo someday. Even if he was the equivalent of an Espada sometimes, he had the soul of a shinigami. And the heart of a human.

A hallow with a heart and soul.

_"Will I find it if I rip your chest apart?"_

Orihime swallowed and her hand went instinctively to her chest. She could feel her heart beating there, and her fingers slowly curled into a fist, her knuckles white with the force.

_"Will I find it if I crack open your skull?"_

She closed her eyes.

It was impossible. Her eyes had simply been playing tricks on her. He was dead; he'd vanished right before her eyes. He'd reached out to her, and she'd failed to help him. He was gone.

_"Orihime, what's wrong?" she barely registered Rukia's hand on her shoulder as she stared across the street. Her heart was in her throat and her breath caught along with it. He was there, his shoulder length black hair waving in the breeze like wisps, his green eyes focused on the sidewalk, his pale complexion a deep contrast to the darker toned people surrounding him. Yet he'd succeeded in becoming invisible. That is, to everyone but her. _

_ She'd seen him, and then she'd watched as he had vanished into the crowd once again, his gaze downcast, his face in that permanent frown that had chastised her so many times before. Had told her it was useless to hope, useless to love. _

_ The one person she had failed to help when he'd needed her most and had wasted away right before her eyes. _

_ How could she ever forget him?_

It couldn't have been him; she just had to keep telling herself that. He was gone; he had fought Ichigo and suffered the consequences. It was simply impossible.

And even if he were alive, what would he being doing here, in Karakura, walking around in normal clothes?

Orihime growled. It didn't matter because it wasn't him because he was dead! She'd seen him die with her own two eyes. He'd turned to dust, become nothing but a memory. A memory she should do well to forget, but couldn't. He had plagued her mind since then. She regretted having been so caught up in her own problems back then, to have been so blind and not realized that she wasn't the only one who was confused, who needed help. Had she been more useful, maybe she could have helped him, helped more than just him. Helped them all.

_"… In the end, I think I actually had some interest in you people."_

_ "… Are you afraid of me, woman?" _

_ "I'm not afraid." _

_ "Really…" _

Shivering, Orihime sighed and rubbed her hands against her eyes.

Why did she start crying whenever she thought about him?

**oOo**

"Ulquiorra!" Harribel stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Come down here, dinner's ready!" She got no reply, but she was sure he'd be down soon; he wasn't one to disobey orders. Turning, the blonde woman backtracked to the kitchen and through the double doors on the right. She smiled at the sight before her. She knew it wasn't anything extremely impressive, but she was happy nonetheless.

Sitting in the middle of the room was a large mahogany table surrounded by matching chairs, three on each side and one on each end. Laid across the table was their dinner, the one Yuzu had helped her prepare. As it had turned out, they really had had no food in the house. So she and their little blonde neighbor had walked to the store to get supplies. They'd then spent the better of two hours preparing the food. It was a little late, almost 8:30, but it had been worth it.

"Can we eat _yet_?" Grimmjow asked testily from his seat when Harribel entered. He sat next to Nel on the far side of the table, middle seat, his arms crossed angrily. He'd come downstairs about an hour before and tried to raid their groceries, but Harribel had smacked him on the arm and told him to wait. He'd been irritated ever since.

"No," she replied simply and crossed her arms under her breasts. "We have to wait for Ulquiorra to come downstairs and for Lilynette and Karin to finish getting cleaned up." He groaned and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling miserably.

Moments later, Karin and Lilynette entered the room, chatting and laughing. The darker of the Kurosaki twins had removed her cap and was sporting a good bit of hat hair, but she didn't seem to care. Sitting down opposite Grimmjow, she made an effort to ignore him. Lilynette was sitting on the far left, next to Starrk who had placed himself on that end. He looked like he'd just woken up and was prone to nod off every once in a while.

Frowning, Harribel was about to go yell at Ulquiorra again when, low and behold, he stepped in through the doorway, his deadpan face staring at them all speculatively. He surveyed his surroundings for a few seconds before glancing at the three empty seats on the right. His eyes then flickered to Grimmjow. If his frown could deepen more, it would have. Sighing under his breath, he made his way to the seat beside the strange black haired girl, as far away from Grimmjow as he could get.

"Jeez, 'bout fricken' time," the blue haired delinquent mumbled as he scooted closer to the table. Harribel gave him another warning glance and he paused, confusion evident on his face. But he got the message and with a few mumbled curses, he continued to wait.

"Sorry," Yuzu blurted as she burst through the doors. She stumbled to a halt when she realized that the entire family she'd been cooking for was present. Blushing, she mumbled something about having to wash the flour off her arms as she glanced up at Harribel. The woman of the house only smiled.

"This is the little girl responsible for this lovely meal," Harribel placed her hand affectionately on Yuzu's head and the girl blushed more as she gripped the cloth of her dress in her hands. Karin had turned to stare at her and reddened upon seeing her sisters flushed face. "So make sure you thank her," the third Espada stared pointedly at Grimmjow, "because it's due to her lessons that I may be able to do this myself someday."

A few mumbled "thank you's" were thrown around the room, though Nel had the audacity to yell it from her raised seat of phonebooks. Her turquoise hair flopped into her face and she smiled brightly.

"So everyone, this is Yuzu and Karin, our neighbors," Harribel continued as Grimmjow grew more and more irritated. "Yuzu, Karin, you already know me, Lilynette, and Grimmjow," she ground out the blue haired Espada's name, another warning for him to behave himself, "and that over there on the end is Starrk and Nel, and over here is Ulquiorra." She finished her introductions with a smile and ushered Yuzu to her seat next to Grimmjow before taking her own on the end across from Starrk.

Grimmjow raised his eyebrows at Harribel and she nodded. He mumbled a breathy "finally" before reaching towards the food. The rest of the group took that as their cue and began as well.

Yuzu took a nervous breath. She wasn't used to cooking for anyone other than her own family. She hoped it was satisfactory.

She and Harribel had decided on something a little less complicated. Mashed potatoes, grilled pork, basic rolls, and a vegetable casserole were what littered the table. It was very intermediate compared to what Yuzu was used to preparing, yet she felt extremely nervous. What if they didn't like it? What if they thought it was so bad that they kicked both her and Karin out, telling them never to come back because she had poisoned them?

Yuzu could feel her cheeks paling.

"You gonna eat anything kid?" she jumped and glanced up, her eyes wide with surprise when she realized she was being spoken to. He was frowning, his eyebrows pulled together in a scowl. He held the bowl of mashed potatoes in his muscular hands.

"Um, yes," she replied and smiled uneasily. Much to her astonishment, the blue haired teenager then slapped a spoonful of potatoes onto her plate before passing the bowl. "Um, thanks," she mumbled and bit her bottom lip.

"No problem," he replied monotonously. She stared up at him again.

"You remind me of my older brother," she blurted before she could stop herself. He glanced down at her again, he frown deepening. "I mean, he doesn't have… blue hair, or anything, but you're… well you… you act kind of similarly." She paused as he continued to stare down at her. "His hair _is_ an un-unusual color, though not quite as original as yours." His azure gaze drifted away and then down to his plate. Yuzu bit her lip again and sighed.

"Good food," he stated in reply, apparently deciding he should say something.

"Thanks," the younger girl mumbled as she stirred her potatoes around on her plate.

"So Ulquiorra," Harribel's voice rang out across the silent table, causing everyone except that who she addressed to jump. "What did you do today? You were gone almost all afternoon." Forks and knives could be heard banging against plates.

Yuzu and Karin both glanced at the dark haired teenager. He sat very rigid and straight in his seat, his green eyes glued to his plate as he slowly brought a piece of broccoli to his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Harribel continued to stare at him, waiting for an answer.

"I did nothing," he finally replied, his voice rather lackluster. Harribel's lips formed a tight line across her face as she stared disapprovingly at him. But either he didn't care or hadn't noticed because he remained silent, his eyes downcast.

Karin glanced at Yuzu across the table. They had no idea what to do or say. Their family dinners were never like this, never so forced and… awkward. They felt very out of place.

"You just got home yesterday Starrk," Harribel was going to try again. "How was your trip?" The brunette slowly looked up, his blue-gray eyes staring across the table to meet Harribel's green ones. He sighed.

"It was extremely boring," he said and fell silent. Yuzu could have sworn she saw a vein in Harribel's temple start twitching.

"Wow," Lilynette rolled her eyes at the first Espada, "talk about captain elaboration over here." She motioned to the brunette with her fork, never once looking him straight in the eyes. His gaze however had drifted to her and a less than enthused expression had crossed his face. Growling, his sat back in his chair and took a deep breath.

"It was hot and humid, but better then the time I went to Canada," he began, his voice starting out spiteful as he glared at Lilynette's head before glancing back at Harribel. "Most of the models were utterly uninteresting, but the landscape was nice. I had more fun shooting freelance after the shoot then the actual job. I must say, the rainforest is much more inviting than the frigid tundra, which reminds me far too much of… well it's unpleasant. Very colorful though, Brazil is. We should all go sometime. I'm sure you'd enjoy the vegetation Harribel."

"That's too bad, I was hoping you'd get attacked by a panther or something," Lilynette commented casually as she shoved a piece of pork into her mouth. Starrk furrowed his eyebrows at her in displeasure.

"A panther wouldn't waste it's time one someone as useless as Starrk," Grimmjow added and the expression on the older man's face shifted from Lilynette to the blue haired teenager.

"Says the boy who wanted a PS3 and a new LCD television in his room, and got it," Starrk murmured dangerously and crossed his arms over his chest. Grimmjow appeared thoughtful for a moment before shrugging.

"I'm just saying," he paused to swallow, "that anyone who complains about being with beautiful women all day has to be messed up. I mean, if I had your job, there's no way I'd complain about things being boring, cuz I'd make sure they weren't." Harribel stared at Grimmjow disapprovingly and he shrugged, a sadistic grin plastered on his face. "Just sayin'…"

"Well most of these women are not much for entrainment," Starrk defended. "A lot of them are shallow and… stupid. At least as far as I'm concerned. They never have anything interesting to talk about except clothes and photo shoots and fashion and, ugh, boring. They need to watch the news or something."

"I'm telling you Starrk," Harribel interjected, "you're much more suited for photo journalism as opposed to fashion, you don't care enough about it to enjoy it."

"I don't see what the problem is," Grimmjow continued. "They don't need to talk at all to be entertaining, if you know what I mean."

"Grimmjow," Harribel reprimanded, "please, we have guests." He only chuckled, that wicked smile still gracing his features. The blonde woman shook her head.

"Grimmjow just doesn't understand the concept of conversation," Ulquiorra began speaking and everyone turned to stare at him. "Any woman intelligent enough to offer such a luxury wouldn't take a second glance at him." The blue haired man glared at the monotonous speaker, his azure eyes sharp with loathing. "It's obvious after just witnessing this exchange that he doesn't understand proper social etiquette."

Grimmjow scoffed and sat back in his seat, his cocky smile having returned. "And you do?" he seemed skeptical. "Mr. 'My Life is Full of Blackness and Despair?' Tch, you don't even know what you're talking about." Ulquiorra's green eyes had flicked to stare at Grimmjow.

"I was commenting on your lack of social etiquette, not your inability to be social. We all know that, at least physically anyway, you're more than willing to put yourself out there. It doesn't mean you don't look foolish while doing it." Grimmjow was glaring again. "And any woman that would tolerate such uncouth behavior can't be respectable enough to be considered worthy of attention."

"You talk an awful lot for such a hypocrite," Grimmjow countered. "You talk about 'social etiquette' yet you're probably one of the rudest people sitting here." Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed dangerously. "At least I regularly contribute; I don't just sit there like a statue and ignore the world. Rather 'uncouth' and entertaining than silent and boring. Your elitist attitude is the most insulting thing here."

The fourth Espada was on the defensive now. "Elitist?" he hissed. "You're just irritated because I can think with my head as opposed to… well, some things are better left unsaid. But I guess you wouldn't understand that concept." Putting her hand to her mouth, Yuzu had to hold back a giggle as she watched Karin and Lilynette mock the two arguing brothers. Her sister played the role of the dark haired teenager, her eyes and mouth set into a boring frown. Lilynette had her finger in her nose and was pushing it up like a pig as she made rude gestures at Karin.

"Oh I understand," Grimmjow growled. "Though for how much longer I'm not sure. My emotions have quite a bit of influence over what I say, and irritation makes me say things I might later regret. Not that you'd understand that feeling."

"Most would agree that your inability to control your emotions was a weakness, not a strength," Ulquiorra replied testily, his voice finally showing some signs of anger. Turning his head sharply, he stared at the two girls next to him. "And would you two stop?" his voice was dangerously lethal as he hissed at them, but they only laughed. Yuzu couldn't control her giggling anymore either and was forced to succumb, her hand doing little to muffle the high pitched sounds.

"Ully's mad, Ully's mad!" Nel chanted from her side of the table. "Nel knows Ully is mad! Mad Ully!" Grimmjow began laughing boisterously after that. "Grimmy and Ully are mad!"

"Don't call me that," Ulquiorra reprimanded as he turned his gaze to Nel, but she continued ranting about how angry he was, ignoring his command.

"Nah," Grimmjow was smiling again. "I aint' mad, just amused. It seems the black statue can show emotion after all." The dark hared teenager whipped his head back to Grimmjow, his green eyes sharp with said emotion. "You're letting your emotions get the best of you," the sixth Espada mocked as he shook his head, his tongue clicking in disapproval. "Didn't you just say something about that… being a weakness? Yes, I kind of remember that." Grimmjow had placed his pointer finger on his chin thoughtfully as he stared up at the ceiling.

Ulquiorra glared at his opponent for a few moments longer before he quickly reeled in his wrath, his forest colored eyes becoming bank walls once again. Turning his head to the side, he stared at the floor, aware that his pink cheeks were betraying some of his control. Damn human body, he couldn't control it very well.

"Alright kids, that's enough," Starrk droned though he did sound slightly amused. "Let's return to more civilized conversation." He didn't sound very set on that course of action, but the fact that he had said it would get him out of trouble with Harribel later.

"I'm finished," Ulquiorra stated quietly as he stood up. Turning to Yuzu, he nodded once. "Very good food girl, you're very talented. Thank you." He turned to Grimmjow at the end of his speech, as if to rub that fact that he had manners in his rivals face.

But the blue haired teenager had taken a lesson from Lilynette and had pulled his nose up with his finger, rudely gesturing to Ulquiorra like a pig. The standing individual glared at him before rolling his eyes and tuning sharply on his heel, muttering something about Grimmjow's maturity level. Within seconds he had padded out of the room. Grimmjow was leaning over the table, his finger still attached to his nose, his tongue sticking out as far as he could push it.

The four younger girls were giggling again and Grimmjow eventually sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, a very please expression plastered across his face.

"You really rub him the wrong way don't you?" Harribel stated with raised eyebrows.

The sixth Espada shrugged. "It's good for him," he stated. "He needs to be poked and prodded once in a while; otherwise he'd get so uptight he'd twist himself in half." Harribel didn't respond, but it was obvious by the look on her face that she wasn't buying it.

"Are you saying to care about him?" Lilynette asked slyly and Grimmjow turned to her sharply.

"No," he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I think you are," she egged.

"Shut up brat," Grimmjow reached across the table to smack her, but she'd bounded away, her tongue stuck between her teeth rudely. He huffed and sat back in his seat, apparently deeming her not worthy of any further attention.

"Ully and Grimmy are friends," Nel whispered with a sadistic smile, as if it were some long kept secret that only she knew and that by revealing it she had somehow betrayed someone.

"You don't know what you're talking about kid," he rebuked. "So be quiet." Nel continued smiling as Grimmjow focused once again on his food. Harribel threw Starrk a knowing glance and he replied with much the same. Yes, Ulquiorra needed to be poked and prodded, but so did their blue haired companion. They were good for each other.

The rest of dinner continued without incident, and after Yuzu offered to help with the dishes and was turned down, they headed to the door. Saying their goodbyes quickly, the two girls waved as they made their way to the street. Harribel and Lilynette waved back momentarily before heading back inside.

"Well that was fun," Yuzu mumbled happily. "For a while there I thought the whole thing was going to be completely silent, but those two kind of reminded me of how Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji can be with each other sometimes."

Karin nodded in agreement. "I think those two still have some problems to work out with each other though," she pondered and kicked a stone farther up the sidewalk. "Sounds to me like they've had some kind of ongoing rivalry for a long time."

"Yeah, I think so too," Yuzu commented. They were silent for a moment. "Hey Karin?" the darker twin nodded in acknowledgment. "Be really vague when we talk about them." The tomboy of the two turned sharply to give her sister a bewildered look. Yuzu was smiling mischievously though and Karin knew to be wary of that look. It wasn't everyday that Yuzu got a look like that, but when she did it was best to do what she said. "I have a plan," she stated without any elaboration. Karin stared at her a moment longer before turning away. Best not to question, she'd just wait and see what happened.

"Ya know," the tomboy began, "we never got our cake pan back."

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Chapter two, I told you it would get posted fast. I know, I know, still no meetings between the two groups, but the next chapter should be interesting. And I know Ulquiorra was kind of a prick, but everyone knows that those two hate each other so /shrug

Also, for those of you who like to foreshadow, know this. Urahara never does anything nice without having personal motives. Keep that in mind when you think about everything he's done for our cute little Hallow family.

Am I the only person out there who absolutely hated Orihime until Ulquiorra showed up? Now they're one of my all time favorites couple's, second place to Rini and Helios from Sailor moon.

LOVE YA!

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE!


	3. Seeing You Again

**The Definition of Love**

_"Caress the one, the Never-Fading rain in your **heart**_  
_ - the tears of snow-white sorrow_  
_ Caress the one, the **hiding** amaranth_  
_ In a land of the **daybreak**_

_ Apart from the wandering pack_  
_ In this brief **flight of time**_  
_ we **reach** For the ones who ever **dare**_

_ You believe but what you **see**_  
_ You receive but what you **give"**_

_**Amaranth - Nightwish  
**_

**Chapter 3: Seeing You Again  
**

"You should probably warn them," she muttered as she shoved some noodles into her mouth. The man sitting across from her sighed. "I mean, you _were_ the one that decided to put them in the same area."

"I know, but they need to be nearer those guys if things are going to change," he replied solemnly. "Otherwise they'll just remain static, well, at least _he_ will. Those first four are doing alright, but those last two need a boost, especially the younger one."

"I agree," she set her chopsticks down and stared seriously across the table, "but if you don't warn them, things could get messy, especially with those two Soul Society shinigami hanging around. If they see them without proper forewarning, they'll report them and then you'll have a lot of explaining to do. Not to mention the effect it would have on their lives. They just got settled in; don't create a reason to uproot them."

He sighed dramatically.

"Alight, alright, I'll head over there later this week."

"Before the school year starts," she added and crossed her arms. "You know they'll see each other there. It's risky enough now. I mean seriously, putting them in the same neighborhood? Was that really necessary?"

"Yes," he stated. "Sure those six aren't traceable by Soul Society, but they're still leaking large amounts of reiatsu, at least compared to your average human. Any hallows that come through are going to be immediately drawn to them, and they can't protect themselves, not with those weak human bodies. Being that close could be what saves their lives. They need protection for now." The woman had begun nodding in agreement halfway through the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes. "But you still have to tell them, you'll be screwed if he blows up and causes a scene, you know Soul Society had been keeping tabs on him, even with their current issues."

"Yeah," he sighed again. "I just don't want to have to deal with his immature outbursts. He's so much like his father it's not even funny."

The woman scoffed. "Don't tell him that."

"Wasn't going to."

**oOo**

"I think we should get Lilynette a pet," Harribel turned to stare at the man sitting on the couch next to her. He had reading glasses perched on his nose as he gazed down at a newspaper, his shaggy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.

The blonde was slightly skeptical. "And why, exactly, do you feel this way?" He sighed and flipped to another page in the newspaper. Harribel knew he was thinking of a reply and turned to focus once again on her own reading. It was quiet, the moon was high in the sky, and she and Starrk were the only ones in the room. The light from the lamps glared across the tall windows, causing the two seated figures to be reflected back at them.

"She gets lonely when I leave," he started. "It's… something of a fear for her. She's not used to being without me for so long. Granted, she has all of you, but things have changed. It used to be just me and her. It took me a while to get used to being apart when I had to start working, but she's just a child. I just…"

"You worry about her?" Harribel offered with a smile. "Or you're just looking for an excuse to buy her something?" The brunette shrugged, not really seeming to swing one way or another. "You know, as soon as you brought it up, my immediate reaction was that it wouldn't be a very good idea, but perhaps a dog or something could… bring a sense of responsibility to this place."

Starrk stared at her, his eyebrows furrowed. "A… dog?" He seemed uneasy. "I was thinking more along the lines of a fish or…something." Harribel pursed her lips as she returned his gaze.

"A fish? Starrk, I thought you were trying to ease her loneliness, not bore her to death. She needs a companion animal. Actually," the blonde woman gripped her chin between her thumb and forefinger thoughtfully, "they could all use a little bit of what we're discussing." Starrk sighed and closed his newspaper. Why had he even brought it up?

"I feel like this isn't going to turn out well…"

"No, I think this is a really good idea," Harribel insisted and leaned forward in her chair. "They're all still children, you know that. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra wouldn't admit it, but they do have the mentalities of teenagers. They probably died that way. And considering everything that went on in Huaco Mundo, well, we need to try and steer them back in the right direction."

"How do we know _we're_ headed in the right direction?" Starrk asked, obviously unenthused with the course of the conversation.

"We don't," she replied simply. "But you heard Urahara, Grimm and Ulquiorra are going to have the hardest time adapting to this new lifestyle, the least we can do is make it a little easier for them."

"And… getting a dog is going to do that?" Starrk was obviously skeptical despite his lack of emotion. "Harribel, I don't think Grimmjow even likes dogs, let alone what Ulquiorra would think." She sighed and appeared thoughtful once again.

"It doesn't have to be all dogs, I mean-"

"Wait, hold on," Starrk rubbed his temples in frustration. "Are insinuating that you want to bring more than one animal into this house? Harribel, let's not get carried away with-"

"Listen Starrk," she interjected. "I think this could be really good for them, truly. I mean, this is all so… new to us. The only reason that you and I are handling it so well it because Urahara prepared us specifically for these rolls. But what about them? What about when they go to school? Having something like that, something to keep them company, something to love them, something that _has_ _emotions_," an obvious hint about Ulquiorra, "could only benefit them. Plus," she sighed in annoyance, "you've seen how useless they are, maybe this will instill some kind of responsibility in them."

"Or they'll starve the things to death," Starrk replied monotonously. Harribel glared at him.

"I don't think they will," she replied. "I know Lilynette won't ignore it, and if we stay away from dogs with Grimmjow… And I think Ulquiorra, out of a sense of 'duty' will feel the need to at least feed the poor thing. Maybe eventually he'll warm up to it. Though I do have to admit that Nel is too young."

"You're really set on this aren't you?" Starrk's voice exhibited an obvious sense of foreboding. "I never should have said anything."

"So a dog for Lilynette, and… well a cat for Grimmjow I guess…" she was thoughtful as she folded her arms under her breasts. "I think… I think a dog for Ulquiorra would be a good idea too. He needs someone, something, to love him unconditionally. Actually, I think he needs this the most, he always seems so distant and… lost."

"Well you know what Urahara said about him," Starrk sighed. "He's going to have the most challenging time. Grimmjow will too, but it won't be as bad for him."

"I know," the blonde's shoulders sagged, "I just want to make it as easy for him as possible. And you know what they say, animals are good healers…"

"You worry too much," he said softly.

"I just… he's so much more fragile than… I don't want him to get hurt is all."

Starrk sighed with a groan before returning his gaze to her. "I never thought, when we stepped through that gate, that this was where we'd end up. You've really grown attached to them haven't you?"

She laughed lightly. "I suppose I have," she confirmed with a shrug.

**oOo**

"It really is pouring out," Yuzu placed her hands on the window and stared up at the bubbling sky. The different hues of blue, gray, and black were ominous, but she felt safe in the confines of the small shop. Turning, she glanced back at the woman behind the counter.

"Well I hope it quits soon," Harribel frowned. "It would have been better to come yesterday, when we'd taken the car, but I don't want to have to walk back home in this weather." Yuzu quite agreed and turned to the window again, her lips curved down.

It was Tuesday, the second day she'd come to help Harribel set up her shop. They'd been able to open the small store at midday the day before, and had had a reasonable amount of business considering the store hadn't been advertised yet, but today was a complete downer in comparison. Hardly anybody had walked in, and even the people that had walked by were so huddled in rain coats that there was no chance they would have noticed the flowers sitting outside anyway.

In any case, Harribel didn't seem too concerned about the lack of customers. She had finished setting up the store and then gone ahead and started arranging a few more displays, teaching Yuzu the basics as she did. It had been a somewhat productive day, but as the rain continued pouring down, Yuzu was suddenly aware of how stranded they were. It was a fifteen minute walk from the store on the corner to their neighborhood, and Yuzu knew that they'd get soaked if they attempted it. She didn't want to get sick.

"It's nearly six and it doesn't look like this weather is going to let up," Harribel came up behind the younger girl, her arms folded beneath her breasts. "I'd say that was cause to close up for today, but I don't want to go out in this." Yuzu smiled to herself, they'd been thinking the exact same thing.

The younger blonde had been feeling increasingly more attached to the older woman since they'd met only two days before. She'd spent the most of two days submerged in colorful arrays of blossoms and leaves. And Harribel didn't seem to mind her presence. Really it was quite the opposite. So she was happy.

It was a quaint little shop on the outskirts of the main city. The doors opened up directly on the corner, inviting people from every direction to enter. Dark green awnings with thin green vertical stripes encompassed the outside edges, and displays of leafy plants spread from one side to the other. They were receiving a nice shower currently, and would no doubt look vibrant come morning, their roots soaking up the natural water from the potted soil.

Inside was more colorful with larger blossomed flowers set up in vases and bouquets. It was in the store that Harribel's talents were needed most. Decorated artistically, it showed off all her abilities. It did take quite a bit of preparation though; they had to go through during the morning and mark off any arrangements that were still in good shape as half off for not being fresh, and dispose of the wilted ones. But they also got to make new ones throughout the day, constantly freshening up the atmosphere. It smelled lovely, and Yuzu thoroughly enjoyed her volunteer work there.

"Can't anyone come and get us?" she glanced up at the frowning woman. It was pleasant in the shop, and Yuzu didn't mind staying there, but she supposed she should go make dinner for her family eventually.

"No," Harribel sighed. "Starrk left yesterday on business to Africa, and neither Grimmjow nor Ulquiorra are old enough to drive, not that I particularly want them to." Yuzu bit her bottom lip and wrung her fingers together.

"Can I ask you a question? Kind of a personal one?" Harribel furrowed her eyebrows down at the girl, but nodded nonetheless. "Why is that you… that you call 'Starrk' by his last name? And why does he call you by yours? Why does everyone call you by yours? I mean, I get that it's a formality, but aren't you guys, like…"

"Like what?"

"Aren't you two… together? Or even married or… something?" Harribel blinked twice as the question slowly sank in. Then she smiled, then she laughed. Yuzu felt blood rush to her cheeks.

"Starrk and I? Married?" She laughed again. "Gods no, we're not married. We're not even together. He's like… he's like my brother." Yuzu "ohed" in understanding, though this kind of threw her for a loop. If she and Starrk weren't together, where had all their kids come from? "As for your other question, I don't really know. I guess it stems back from… well back from when we used to work together. The two of us, and a select few of our other collogues, used to address each other as such, so I guess it just kind of stuck after we left that… job."

"Oh… okay," Yuzu was obviously thoughtful and as she stared up at the older women, she wondered if it was alright to inquire deeper into her life. But she didn't seem at all irritated by her question, so perhaps it wouldn't hurt to quench some of her other curiosities. "So… are you related to Grimmjow and everyone or…" She didn't know exactly how to phrase her question, but by the look of understanding that crossed Harribel's, the older woman understood what she was getting at.

"Well, the only two of us that are actually related to each other are Starrk and Lilynette, she's his… daughter. Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Nel are like our… adopted children I suppose. It's kind of a difficult situation. No, Starrk and I aren't together, but we look after them, and I look after Lilynette too." She smiled sadly. "Our family came about as kind of… an accident. But we've made the best of it, and I love them all very much," her smiled turned into a grin, "even if some don't appreciate it yet." Yuzu smiled despite the way her insides toiled. She wanted to know so much what had happened to them, to all these people, to throw them together. They seemed so out of place together, yet so right for each other.

The younger blonde was thinking of a clever way in which she could ask such a question when the phone in her dress pocket began vibrating. Jumping, she reached inside it and glanced at the caller ID. It read that it was Karin.

"Hello?" she slipped the phone up to her ear.

_"Hey,"_ was the deadpan reply. _"Everyone's wondering when you're going to be home. Dad was expecting you to come home with me after Lilynette and I got back from the park, so he's kind of… freaking out." _Yuzu sighed.

"It's pouring out, and I can hear thunder coming too. We're stranded at the flower shop," really, the lighter twin was in no rush to get home, but she had been rather neglectful of her own family the last few days. She'd even helped Harribel make dinner the day before, the second night in a row, so her own responsibilities had been ignored

And then it hit her. An epiphany unlike any other. Had she been in the middle of the road, it would have been a semi.

"So, could you tell dad to come get us?"

**oOo**

"You were waiting for him to leave," Ichigo pointed an accusing finger at the window, "weren't you?" He was standing next to his closet, Renji sitting on the floor next to him, laughing like a mad man.

"Isshin?" the blonde man scratched the back of his head, his voice muffled by the glass that separated them. "No, that was really just coincidence." He smiled and tapped on Ichigo's window. "Think you could let me in now, or are you still scared."

"You dropped out of the sky right in front of me!" the strawberry yelled viciously. "Of course I was going to jump, but I was _not_ scared." Renji snorted one last chortle before standing.

"Yeah right, that's why you squeaked like a little girl and fell backwards off your bed," the redhead taunted as he strolled out of Ichigo's reach. The younger of the two shinigami turned his gaze to the older, his glare sucking out what little happiness could live in the room.

Lifting open the window, Renji allowed Urahara in out of the rain.

"Thanks Moocher," he stated simply and tapped the lieutenant on the head with his cane. Renji sighed; he was obviously having second thoughts about letting the scientist into the room. "You can come back you know, to the store, if you want, Moocher, since I'm done with my research for now... Moocher."

"…"

"Well you think about it," Urahara grinned again. "I'm here to talk to I-chi-go anyway, but you should probably listen in since I was going to direct him to relay this message to you and all your friends to begin with." The blonde man turned his ear towards Ichigo's door. "And I know you're there Ms. Kuchiki so why don't you join us as well." The old door slowly creaked open and the petite, dark haired shinigami strolled in, too much as if she owned the place for Ichigo's taste.

"How long have you been sitting out there?" Ichigo suddenly inquired, his normally tan face turning as white as a sheet.

"Since Urahara's reiatsu showed up outside, why?" she cocked her head to the side and stared at the younger boy with curious, dark, alluring, big, beautiful, purple-blue eyes. He gulped and glanced at the floor. How long was that? He hadn't even sensed Urahara coming, hadn't known he was there until he'd dropped down to the window.

"Don't worry Ichigo," the ex-shinigami prodded the younger in the ribs with his elbow, "your secrets' safe with me," he winked. "Rukia didn't hear anything you two were talking about." The shortest of the group raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at Ichigo with quizzical, distrustful eyes.

Ichigo gulped.

"So what did you want to talk about Urahara?" His voice was strangely high and he could feel Rukia's suspicious glare on his face.

"Oh right," he plopped down in the bed and crossed his legs, apparently deciding he needed to make himself comfortable. Renji shrugged and followed suit, flopping down on his comforter on the floor. Ichigo joined him and felt the blood rush to his face as Rukia took a seat on Renji's other side, her gaze still on the orange haired shinigami.

"This is going to take a while, isn't it?" Renji mumbled miserably.

"Only as long as you want it to take," Urahara teased before taking a deep breath, his face becoming suddenly drawn and serious. "Actually I'm here to give you a warning," his voice was low and dangerous, and Ichigo immediately felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle, a sure sign that Urahara's tone was very threatening towards them. He could tell by the way that Rukia and Renji stiffened that they noticed too.

"About what?" Renji asked dangerously.

"About me," he replied simply and Ichigo's eyes thinned in suspicion. "You see, something has happened. Actually it happened about a year ago." Ichigo heard an alarm go off in his head, an orange flashing siren. The war had ended only a little less than a year ago. And from what he could gather, that was when Renji had stated that Hat and Clogs had started doing some kind of dangerous experimenting in his underground training center.

What had the troublemaking candy salesmen done now?

"You see, when you destroyed the Hogyoku Ichigo, everything it had created disintegrated, leaving all the boundaries it had broken intact." He slammed the butt of his cane on the floor and gave the three shinigami's a serious, unblinking stare. "This, however, caused some problems for a few certain individuals, seeing as their entire existence depended on the Hogyoku's power."

"The Espada," Rukia muttered dangerously, drawing the attention of the entire room to her. She was staring fiercely at the floor, her eyes flashing dangerously as her thoughts flitted around in her head.

"Yes," Urahara nodded. "You always were rather quick to catch on Rukia." She glanced up at the blonde man, not at all fazed by his compliment. "It's true, the Espada were affected and they had to make a few key decisions. You see, as Aizen developed the power of the Hogyoku, he was able to create more powerful arrancar. The goal of the transformation was to make them more like shinigami. It drove away the madness that being a hallow induced.

"But hallow cannot become shinigami entirely, just as shinigami cannot become hallow entirely. Aizen was very close, but he didn't have the human roots that you do Ichigo," the youngest shinigami swallowed, returning Urahara's cold gaze. "Hallow's and shinigami stem from the souls of humans, they are the base, but it is your status as a current, _living_, human that allows you to breach all boundaries.

"When Aizen transformed the hallows into his minions, he had to tap into their human roots for they are the link between hallow and shinigami. The closer those hallow came to humans, the closer they got to shinigami, and vice versa. So not only did this create a power increase, but it enabled a physiological development as well." The blonde man's eyes flickered away from Ichigo, almost guiltily.

"You have proof of this transformation Ichigo," he said quietly. "You've said it yourself that you feel the madness encompassing you the stronger your hallow form gets. It is your human emotions that keep your madness at bay." Renji and Rukia both glanced at the orange haired shinigami curiously. They truly had no idea what the madness Ichigo felt was like, how unstable it could be unless kept reined in.

So it was his human side that kept it from engulfing him completely.

"You see Ichigo, Vizards to shinigami are the equivalent of what Arrancar are to hallow. And because you are a human, unlike the other Vizards, you were able to cross the line that they could not. You will also take note of some trends in the Espada. Did you ever notice that the deeper they were in violence and murder, the larger their releases were?"

"But," Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows, his frown deepening. "Grimmjow was… fuckin' crazy, but his release was small…?"

"Yes, it was, but what emotions drove him to attack you?" Urahara continued. "He wanted revenge; he wasn't killing you for the sake of fighting, even if he did enjoy it. Revenge is a human emotion, as is rage and anger, other things that drove Grimmjow to attack you. The other Espada, the ones with larger releases, felt these things, yes, even represented them, but it did not set in them a directive, they were not human enough to be fueled by them.

"You see, the larger an arrancar's release, the more like hallow's they are, the smaller, the more like human's they have become. You'll notice Ichigo that when you release your hallow form, you do not bulk up in any way, you stay the same size though your skin changes color and you wear a larger mask. But compared to others, you are relatively small."

Ichigo's mouth dropped open slightly; he had never noticed that before.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?" Rukia questioned impatiently.

"Ah, yes, right, back to my point," Urahara smiled. "You're probably wondering what this has to with me." Despite the crease in the blonde mans lips, he eyes were dead serious, piercing through the shinigami present in the room. "Going back to the beginning of the conversation, I said that these Espada had to make some important decisions. Because they were no longer under the power of the Hogyoku, they would regress back to what they were before Aizen's influence."

"Wait," Rukia rubbed the bridge of her nose as she tried to understand all the information that was being thrown their way. "If the arrancar and the vizards are the equivalent of each other on each side, wouldn't they regress back into Shinigami as well? Why didn't Ichigo turn back into only a human?"

"Because," Urahara took a breath, "the Espada were transformed directly by the power the Hogyoku induced. The Vizards and Ichigo may have been influenced by its ability to make wishes reality, but they were changed using real hallowfication, Aizen's experiments, and mine, not the shortcut the Hogyoku created."

"Okay…" Renji scratched the side of his head. "So if the Espada regressed back to their original forms, should we be watching out for them? I mean they're still powerful. Is that what you're warning us about?"

"No," Urahara replied. "They were dwelling in Hueco Mundo like that for centuries. Perhaps they could be a threat now because of the knowledge they have gained, but I wouldn't worry about it currently.

"And if you remember correctly, I said the warning was about _me_." Silence. Urahara was using that threatening tone again and Ichigo was feeling suddenly very anxious. "You see, the Espada could either regress back or, well, they had another choice." All three Shinigami raised their eyebrows skeptically. "Their power and their ability to feel emotion went hand in hand. Many of the top Espada had no desire to regress back to their original forms for it would mean a return of the madness.

"So they took advantage of the other choice. They could either regress back to hallow… or they could embrace the feelings that the Hogyoku gave them and become humans, relieving themselves of their hallow powers completely."

Ichigo gaped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he was having trouble comprehending the concept. "Are you saying that some of those crazy ass hallows became humans, that they're walking around living normal lives just like everyone else…? How is that even possible?"

Urahara sighed. "They couldn't cross the line to shinigami, but they could that of human's. Really, it was just another type of regression from their Espada forms."

"Well…" Ichigo was completely thrown back by the very concept. "We need to find them and-"

"No!" the blonde man stated firmly, silencing the orange haired shinigami. "I told you already, they're humans, basically harmless." Standing, he towered over the three young shinigami. "And this is the part where I warn you," he voice was steely and deadly. "If you do anything to impede on their lives, if you report this to Soul Society, if you make a scene that draws unwanted attention _from_ Soul Society, anything from _any_ of you," though he was looking at Ichigo, "I will not hesitate to remove you from the situation," he leaned down, his head only inches from theirs, "permanently."

The threat, or "warning" as he so calmly put it, rang loud and clear in their heads. Ichigo may very well be the most powerful being in the world, but Urahara knew things, the kind of stuff Ichigo was no match for. He didn't doubt the man's words; he'd exterminate them if he felt the need to do so.

But that didn't stop Ichigo from realizing what the ex-shinigami insinuated.

"You act as if you're positive we'll meet up with them…"

"Exactly." The blonde man retreated and took his place on Ichigo's bed once again. "You see, when they first showed up here, I was the one that found them, and I'm the one that educated them in the ways of the real world."

"That's why you wouldn't let me in your underground training facility!" Renji exclaimed. "They were down there the whole time." He sounded almost regretful, as if he'd lost an opportunity.

"Yes, they've been living with me for the past year," the older man confessed. "And I just recently moved them out. You see Ichigo; I put them in a place where you would meet up with them for a reason." The orange haired shinigami glared straight up at the blonde man and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like where this was going. "Unfortunately, even though they are humans, they're trailing rather large amounts of reiastu. Not enough for Soul Society to be concerned, but enough to draw minor hallow's their way, much like the hallows were drawn to you, Ichigo, before your powers were liberated by Rukia."

"What do you want me to do about it?" the youngest shinigami growled.

"I want you to do what you do best Ichigo," Urahara was stern and serious, almost as if he were giving an order. "I want you to protect them, just as you would any other human, if not more so. If they die, they'll be thrown into Soul Society, and the first whiff of their reiastu any captain gets..."

"You want me to… _protect_ them?" he was completely skeptical, and completely disgusted. "More so than usual? Are you crazy? You want me to protect _hallows_?"

"Humans," Urahara corrected.

"This is insane!" he was standing now. "They deserve whatever punishment they get from Soul Society! No, no way, not happening. If they get attacked by hallows then… then I'll let them get eaten." Urahara pursed his lips together, obviously disappointed, but not surprised, by Ichigo's reaction.

"Ichigo, they're harmless," Urahara defended. "They're just trying to be happy and live normal lives. They don't want anything to do with you either, I'm sure." Ichigo scoffed. "Besides," Urahara was getting angry now, "if they do end up dead because you neglected to do your job, if all three of you neglected to do your jobs, then I'll deal with you myself."

"Is that another 'warning'?" Ichigo asked, his tone childish and bratty.

"One and the same actually," he replied coldly. The orange haired shinigami seemed as though he was going to try and hold his ground on the subject, but considering the deadly look in Urahara's eyes, it was obvious he wouldn't last long. Growling and turning his gaze to the floor, he gave in.

"I guess we don't really have a choice," Rukia finalized.

"No, you don't," Urahara smiled jovially and stood, his clogs leaving imprints on Ichigo's bed as he walked back over to the window.

"Hey, hold on," Ichigo exclaimed and the older man paused, his head turning back to look at the teenager. "Who… which ones are they?" Urahara laughed and continued on his way.

"Don't worry about that," he replied as he stuck one foot out Ichigo's window. "You'll meet them soon," he seemed all too pleased with himself. "Two of them are enrolled in your high school."

**oOo**

"Tia, it's a pleasure to meet you," a tanned, well manicured hand met with a muscular male one. The two shook hands and Yuzu was pleased to see her father's had lingered a little longer than necessary.

"Isshin…" his voice was serious and Yuzu did her best to decipher his expression, but had no luck. He was straight-faced and stern, much to her chagrin. Still, she supposed it was better than his normal hysterics.

Harribel was smiling though.

"You're… the new neighbor, correct?" he questioned as he ran his hand through his dark brown hair in an attempt to right it after the rain. Yuzu was glad he did, it accentuated his strong jaw line and showed off his biceps beneath his t-shirt.

"Yes," Harribel had crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "Yuzu and Karin have been an unbelievable help," she laughed carelessly. "In fact I think my whole family would have starved without her help. And Karin has been kind enough to befriend my daughter, Lilynette."

"Sounds like you have quite the workload to deal with," he laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Karin and Yuzu haven't said a thing about it." His gaze drifted to her momentarily and the younger girl blushed.

"Well maybe they just feel guilty," Harribel grinned down at her and the twin couldn't help doing the same. "Our family has been stealing their attention as of late." She was smiling an awful lot, Yuzu noted. That was good right? Women smiled a lot when they were flirting, right? But why wasn't her dad taking the bait? He seemed more standoffish than anything, but he was never like that. Even if he wasn't interested, Yuzu knew he was prone to flirting back. Well, actually he was never interested, but Yuzu liked Harribel, and she was so much like…

"Tell me, where are you from?" Isshin was smiling now as well, which Yuzu could only guess was a good sign. Maybe his change in demeanor was a sign that he _was_ interested. Yuzu hoped he was.

Harribel laughed, "Oh goodness, nowhere you've been I'm sure."

"Try me."

Pause.

Yuzu frowned as all smiles left the conversation. What was wrong with her dad? Why was he acting so… serious?

"Well… we moved from an island… off the coast," Yuzu watched as the older woman's fingers tightened around her elbows, her knuckles turning white. "But Yuzu mentioned that you owned a private clinic, so you must travel a lot to conferences and things, you may have been there."

"Yes, that's possible," he replied and Harribel smiled again, but it was different than before. It was fake. Yuzu hadn't known the woman that long, but she could tell. Her eyes looked worried and she was scouring Isshin's face for something, searching for something. "But I haven't been off that way very often. A lot of my trips bring me to the big cities, Tokyo, that lot. Have you ever been there?"

And just like that the tense atmosphere evaporated and her father's smile returned, almost as if he had dismissed the unsatisfactory air with the flick of his hand. Harribel had apparently sensed the change as well since her real smile returned.

Was he doing some kind of shinigami reiatsu thing?

Why?

"I haven't actually," she replied. "But once we get settled in here I'd like to visit a few places, so perhaps I'll add that to the list." Isshin scoffed.

"Don't bother, it's too crowded, nothing to be impressed by," he shook his head, still smiling, and Yuzu let out a big breath. Things were going normally then, at least she thought they were.

"Really? Well I wouldn't know what to expect, I've never been to a big city like that before." Their conversation went on like that for a few more minutes, pleasantry after pleasantry. Yuzu was frustrated. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Isshin was supposed to act all flattering and compliment her shop, she was supposed to blush and shove him back by the shoulder when he said something "absurd." This was **all wrong**! Instead they were just standing there, talking about the weather!

"Well I'd be happy to give you a ride back to your place," Isshin stated. "It's right on the way." Of course that had been the entire reason for Yuzu calling, but so far her plan had backfired. She was confused, she couldn't tell if they were interested in each other or not!

"I would be eternally grateful if you did," she truly sounded relieved. "I wasn't looking forward to that walk, especially with the wind picking up the way it is." Yuzu glanced out the window to see that her words were true. A few pieces of trash were blowing through the streets, the rain curved at a harsh angle.

"Well I'm parked right outside," he stated and motioned to a silver car being pelted by rain. "Hopefully we'll survive the trek that far." They both continued smiling as they walked to the door. Yuzu followed behind, but was disappointed when her father simply opened the door as they ducked out into the weather. Although she wasn't sure what she expected him _to_ do. All she did know was that their meeting had not turned out as she had planned.

The drive back was silent which only added to Yuzu's irritation. She sat in the back seat sulking. Harribel stared out the window, her father focused on the road. And even when they reached the older woman's house, they only said some simple "nice to me you's" before Isshin had put the car in drive again and headed home.

Yuzu supposed she'd be a fool to say nothing happened between them, something had, she just didn't know what it was. And it had most certainly not been what she'd wanted to happen, which was all she cared about.

She'd just have to try again, and this time she'd be more clever about it.

**oOo**

"What… is _that_?" Grimmjow took a hesitant step back, his lip curling up in disgust. He'd never seen anything so ugly before, and it smelled terrible. Not to mention it was panting and drooling all over the carpet.

"It's a puppy!" Lilynette exclaimed and bounded over to the small… thing. He had to hold back grimace as she picked up the little fluffy monster and hugged it to her chest. "I knew Starrk was up to something!" Harribel laughed and nodded.

"Yes, he said he felt that you needed someone when he was gone since he thought you felt lonely, so we talked about it and decided a dog would be fitting. It's called a husky, and they're supposed to have lots of energy. But you have to take care of him."

"I will!" She assured and set the little beast back down on the floor, it's bright blue eyes staring up at her expectantly, it's ears pricked straight up as it took in its new environment. Ulquiorra just shrugged and took note that its feet were much too large for its small body. It'd likely be slipping all over the floor.

"And he's already house broken, thank goodness, so just make sure you put him out every hour or so. He's too excitable to hold it for much longer than that." Grimmjow was still staring at the thing like it was going to eat him, and Ulquiorra found strange satisfaction when his blue haired housemate visibly shuddered.

"I want one," Nel grabbed Harribel's hand and stared pleadingly up at her.

"We'll think about it when you get a bit older," the older woman replied. "In the meantime, you can play with these dogs."

"'_Dogs'_?" Grimmjow tensed. "You got more than one?" Harribel stared at him like he was an idiot and motioned to the large cardboard box with holes at her feet. It was shuffling around on the floor impatiently. "You better not have gotten me one of those fuckin' things cuz I swear I'll-"

"I didn't get you a puppy Grimmjow, calm down," Harribel rolled her eyes and bent down to lift a smaller box up from behind the shuffling one. "I'm not an idiot," she assured as she popped open the smaller box. Reaching inside gently, she slowly pulled out yet another living creature from within its depths.

It mewed softly and Ulquiorra saw Grimmjow visibly relax.

"A cat?" the blue haired teenager seemed skeptical as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What am I supposed to do with that little thing? Eat it?" The blonde woman pursed her lips impatiently as she approached the apprehensive sixth Espada.

"If you eat it, starve it, kill it, anything, I'm going to make Urahara turn you into a menos," she clarified as she lifted the tiny animal up to Grimmjow. He still had a disgruntled look on his face, but he wasn't disgusted like he had been with the dog. "Maybe this will teach you to be gentler and less aggressive." She stated as she forcefully placed the kitten in the blue haired man's hand. He awkwardly held the black and orange splotched creature with white feet before him, not sure what to do with it.

It mewed through extremely fluffy cheeks and long white whiskers; it's excessively fluffy tail batting back and forth in irritation at being held so uncomfortably by its armpits. Slowly, Grimmjow brought the animal closer to his chest and once it reached its destination, it clung to his t-shirt as if its life depended on him.

Then it turned its face up and glared at him.

Grimmjow nodded in approval and patted its head gently.

"Cats are so much more dignified than dogs," he mumbled as he eyed the excitable husky across the room, where Nel and Lilynette were chasing it around the couch. "And far more intelligent. You will become an attack cat and I will be your teacher."

Harribel rolled her eyes.

"And this is the last to be added to our family," she continued as she approached the last rumbling box. It whined as she opened the top. Grimmjow turned to Ulquiorra who was looking as unenthused as ever, his hand in his pockets. An evil grin spread across the sixth Espada's face.

"What?" Ulquiorra questioned when he realized he was being stared at.

"Well think about it," Grimmjow started as he thumbed his cats head. It was purring softly and had a rather pleased look on its face, "Harribel is never one to leave anybody out." Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows before the realization finally hit him. Turning sharply, eyes widening considerably, he had pulled his hands out of his pockets just in time to catch a large puppy by the armpits as Harribel dropped it before him.

"They said it's a German-shepherd/Rottweiler mix, whatever that means. He's house broken too, so you won't have to worry about that, but, like the other one, he's young and excitable so you'll have to put him out every hour or so."

Ulquiorra still held the panting animal at bay.

"I don't… want it," he stated lamely, the frown on his face taking a turn for the worst. The puppy didn't seem to notice though; it was smiling and licking its lips while staring expectantly at its new owner.

"Well that's too bad," Harribel turned away from him and began packing the empty boxes back up. "Because it's yours anyway." Grimmjow guffawed at this and flopped down on the couch, the kitten crawling around in his lap. "Having a pet will teach all of you some responsibility."

"But-"

"No Ulquiorra, that dog is now your responsibility," she turned to him again; her eyebrows raised sternly, her arms crossed below her breasts. "You guys laze around here enough as it is."

"Dogs are more difficult," Ulquiorra continued, his muscular arms still holding the dog at an arm's length. "Why can't I have a cat?" The animal was beginning to struggle though and he had to readjust his hold. It whined, its black face staring at him pleadingly, the two silver spots above its eyes coming together like eyebrows.

"Quit complaining," Harribel reprimanded.

"Seriously," Grimmjow added. "It's like you suck all the life out of… well, life." Ulquiorra turned to gaze at the blue haired Espada unhappily. Though whether he was mad at his target or bearing his normal expression, no one could tell. "And put that damn things down, it's killing my ears with that whining." Turning back to the puppy, Ulquiorra had to agree. He set the animal down on all four of its silver socked feet, hoping it would run off somewhere else.

But, of course, nothing ever went the way he wanted it to.

As soon as it was placed on the floor, it glanced up at Ulquiorra, its tail wagging furiously, tongue lolling out. He tried to shoo it away with his feet, but every time he pushed it across the floor it came prancing back and sat down in front of him. At one point it cocked its head to the side, ears perking up expectantly.

"What does it want?" Ulquiorra muttered and shoved it back with his foot again. It rolled onto its back until the fourth Espada pulled his blacked socked foot back, then it jumped to its extra large feet and charged right back up to him, practically sitting on his feet as it pawed at his leg.

"I dunno," Grimmjow replied with a yawn and a bone cracking stretch. He was laid out across the couch, the kitten already asleep on his chest. They were basking in the sunlight as it filtered in through the large floor to ceiling windows.

"What?" Ulquiorra had turned to stare at the puppy. Its ears twitched at the sound of his voice. "I don't know what you want," he continued and, as if contradicting the very statement, it released an ear shattering yelp. "Don't do that," Ulquiorra quickly reprimanded.

Then it did it again.

"Stop."

More yelping ensued.

"Stop making it do that," Grimmjow whined drowsily.

Three more barks and Ulquiorra was reaching down to forcefully clamp the animals mouth shut. But it was too quick for him. As soon as he had bent down towards it, it had jumped back, hips in the air, tail wagging in circles. Had Ulquiorra been one for a laugh, he would have found the sight quite amusing as the things rear was sticking straight up in the air, its chin on the ground.

But he wasn't, so he simply stared at it and placed his hands in his pockets.

It barked again and the green eyed Espada frowned more deeply.

"I told you to stop doing that," he stated and it charged forward again. "But I suppose your inferior- hey, stop." It was biting him. "Get off me," well, biting his pants really. "Why are you- stop it." Shaking his leg, Ulquiorra tried to shoo the animal away once again, but the action only seemed to instigate more problems as it began shaking its head back and forth viciously, bound and determined to destroy Ulquiorra's favorite pair of black jeans. "What is it- stop you- hey!" It was pulling back forcefully, ripping the jeans at the seams.

Taking a step back, Ulquiorra's foot came in contact with the slippery floor of the kitchen, and things just started going downhill, literally.

Just as his sock had come in contact with the shiny stone, the dog had given one final tug, successfully ripping the bottom half of Ulquiorra's pants apart. And as the pants gave a terrible shredding noise, the fourth Espada's socked foot flew towards the ceiling, his green eyes widening considerably as his whole body plummeted to the ground.

With a shallow thud, Ulquiorra found himself staring up at the ceiling, a terrible ache in his back and rear where he had landed. And it was obvious just by looking at him that he didn't have much padding back there.

The puppy barked and ran up to his face, staring down at him innocently, before it began licking his face affectionately.

Grimmjow was laughing from his seat on the couch.

**oOo**

"I'm going to go play soccer up on that hill, alright Ichigo?" Karin pointed up to a large slope some one-hundred feet away. Her older brother nodded and she dashed off, soccer ball I hand, baseball cap pulled down to her eyes.

Silence encompassed the group until the younger Kurosaki was out of earshot.

"Alright, so what is this little get together all about?" Uryu questioned as he delicately wiped crumbs from his mouth and shoved his glasses further up on his nose. "I know you guys aren't the types to call quaint little picnics for no reason." Ichigo sighed and placed his elbows on the dirty, chipped park table and held his head in his hands.

Rukia had decided that they should get the news of what Urahara told them out as soon as possible before something happened, so an emergency get-together had been called the day after his drop by visit of Ichigo's bedroom. Tatsuki and Orihime had been planning to have a picnic in the park anyway, so they'd just made it a group outing. Ichigo, Rukia, and Tatsuki sat on one side, Uryu, Renji, and Orihime on the other. Chad was leaning against the tree that was shading their table, a rice cake held in his hands.

Karin had wanted to tag along too because she'd been going to meet a friend anyway, the new neighbor girl or something as far as Ichigo could comprehend.

"Well actually we're just going to relay a message that Urahara gave us yesterday," Rukia began. "We had to get it to you guys before the school year started." Generally, Tatsuki wouldn't have necessarily been included in these conversations, but they weren't going to tell her to leave either. She was aware enough to understand anyway.

"Before the school year?" Uryu seemed skeptical. "Since when did Urahara function on societies schedule?"

"Since now," Rukia replied sharply. "Now listen up because this is confusing and I don't want to have to say it again."

**oOo**

"I'm going to go find Karin," Lilynette exclaimed as she ran through the park, her puppy following along beside her attached by a bright red leash. "I want her to see what Starrk got me." And with that she was gone.

Ulquiorra was jerked after her momentarily, the damn German-something-or-other wanting to chase after its housemate, but the leash held and the puppy barked a few times before engaging once again in sniffing its surroundings.

Sitting down at a picnic table beneath a large tree, the fourth Espada opened the book he'd brought with him and began reading, ignoring the annoying beast currently strapped to his arm.

His companion flopped down on the other side.

"Man, this is so fuckin' lame," he mumbled and Ulquiorra did his best to ignore the other being present. But it was always difficult to ignore Grimmjow's whining, and Ulquiorra knew he'd probably end up annoyed anyway.

Not that he wasn't already.

Harribel had quickly grown tired of the new animals running through the house while she was trying to work and when Lilynette had said she was going to meet Karin at the park, the blonde woman had insisted that the two older boys go along as well, bringing both dogs with them. Of course there had been objections, but they were quickly shot down by Harribel's stern voice.

So they had begrudgingly set out on their journey, Ulquiorra being half dragged by the impossible animal all the way there as it tried to chase its fellow puppy attached to Lilynette. Grimmjow had made a fine caboose, his mumblings barely audible as they walked single file to the park that Lilynette so fondly spoke of.

During their journey, Lilynette had asked Grimmjow why he was wearing the hood on his sweatshirt. He'd replied that being seen with someone as emo as Ulquiorra (an implication that didn't make any sense because the term implied an abundant amount of negative emotions, something affiliated with the very essence of what Ulquiorra prided himself on being void of) would ruin his image of being a complete badass. Ulquiorra had replied that is was a good thing it was only an image because what it implied was completely false. Grimmjow had then thrown one of his famous man-fits and the two had stopped speaking for the rest of the walk.

That was where they were currently. Grimmjow was irritated that Harribel had made him tag along because he was a "useless bag of skin most of the time" and was bound and determined to make everyone else's life miserable by complaining about it. The green eyed Espada was doing his best to ignore him.

"Hey Ulquiorra," ignore, ignore, ignore. "Hey, would you pay attention," he should have brought his ipod with him. "Dude, seriously," why, _why_ Grimmjow, out of all the Espada that could possibly have become human, why did it have to be him? "Ulquiorra!"

"What?" the fourth Espada replied calmly.

"Would you look the fuck up?" Lowering his book from his face, Ulquiorra was suddenly aware of how lax the leash in his hand had become. "Your damn dog is running away!" Dropping the book to the table, Ulquiorra pulled the leash to him to find the green collar still attached and circular. The animal must have slipped out. "You just gonna sit there like an ass or go get it?" Ulquiorra didn't have time to ponder the idea. "Look," Grimmjow laughed, "it's headed for that pond."

Dog. Dogs were messy. Dogs were annoying and they smelled bad. Wet dogs were all of those things only worse. And that pond was rather murky looking.

"Shit," the green eyed teenager muttered as the dog ran headlong towards the pool of water. It had only been a few seconds; he might be able to catch it before it reached the little manmade reservoir. If he didn't… maybe it would drown?

Then Harribel would drown _him_.

This all ran through the Espada's head as his legs began pumping him across the grass. He had to catch that animal before it hit the water, otherwise Harribel would make him give it a bath and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Cursing his human body and its clumsy slowness, he watched as the animal ducked into a group of joggers on a stone path. They yelped in surprise and Ulquiorra just barely missed running them down as he swerved around them in pursuit.

He could feel his lungs burning, his side aching, as he pushed his body to its fastest, which wasn't at all what the term implied. The animal was pulling away from him, gaining speed with each passing second, and he felt as though he were slowing down. He'd barely run two-hundred meters and his body was already feeling as though it couldn't go on much longer.

Pathetic.

The puppy ducked under the fence surrounding the waterhole, obviously only there as a deter for small children. Without slowing down, at least as much as he could help, the Espada grabbed hold of the top bar and swung himself over, momentarily airborne. And as he landed, he could feel the strain it placed in his legs, mostly his knees, and he nearly buckled.

Catching his balance, he managed to dive upwards, continuing his run down the hill that led to the pond. But as he glanced at the dog he knew he was too late. It had reached the short dock that lead out into the manmade pool, was running across it, its clawed feet rapping against the old wood.

Ulquiorra sighed and it jumped in.

The fourth Espada slowed his decent down the hill and had reached a jog by the time his converse tapped against the dock. He stopped at the edge and took a deep breath as the puppy swam across, apparently intent on getting somewhere. He placed his hands on his knees and closed his eyes.

He felt like jello. He'd barely run and his insides were quaking, his legs shaking. Sweat was beading on his forehead and he wiped it away carelessly. This was absurd. How could he possibly be so out of shape? Humans had to suffer through this all the time? How was he ever going to get used to this?

"Too bad," Grimmjow laughed as he came up behind his green eyed housemate. "Looks like you'll have to wash him up; Harribel will never let it in the house after this. I mean, look at the color of this water." Ulquiorra ignored the blue haired mans badgering and watched as the dog reached the other side. It paused to shake the water from its pelt before darting off up the hill. "If only you'd just pay attention for once."

"I was paying attention," the panting human replied lamely.

"No you weren't," Grimmjow argued. "You never pay attention to anything; you're always off in your own little world." Turning, the fourth Espada was finally starting to feel annoyed enough to say something. "See? This is what I mean." And that was when the green eyed teenager noticed the large hand placed on his chest. With a sadistic smile, Grimmjow pushed him back, causing his target to lose his footing. Eye widening in surprise, Ulquiorra felt his feet fall out from under him.

Arms flailing behind him, the Espada was momentarily airborne as he plummeted off the dock. Not soon after he realized that he was falling did cool summer water engulf him, clouding his vision as he was forcefully sucked under.

Hair floating around his face, Ulquiorra sank to the bottom of the pond before placing his hands on the shallow sandy base and surging upwards, his vision evaporating entirely in the cloudy, polluted water.

His lungs ached at the sudden lack of oxygen after only just catching his breath, and as his head breached the surface, he gasped for air, feeling embarrassed and pathetic at his body's inability to function properly.

Blinking and shaking his head, Ulquiorra listened as his mouth took in gracious amount of air, disgusting water littering his lips and tongue. He almost gagged at the polluted taste, but suppressed the urge when he saw Grimmjow laughing manically from the dock above him.

Without a second thought, the younger of the two finally let his irritation get the better of him and in one swift motion he had the bottom of Grimmjow's pants gripped in his fist. Pulling hard, the fourth Espada only momentarily glimpsed the blue haired mans shocked face as he too tumbled into the water, sinking to the bottom.

His revenge satisfied, Ulquiorra didn't wait for Grimmjow to resurface before he was paddling across the water, intent in finding that damn dog. His body tiredly did what he bid it and it wasn't long before he was walking up the shore.

He felt the epitome of dirty.

His dark jeans were sticking to his legs, dirt and sand graining against his skin between the two. His shoes were soggy, probably ruined, and made disgusting squishy noises as he walked up the grass, his socks sinking between his raisin toes. His long-sleeved t-shirt was hugging his figure, the cool air mixed with the cold water causing a chill to run up his spine. And his hair was in more disarray than usual as it stuck to his face in long strips, covering his eyes.

But he ignored that in favor of finding the dog that was at fault for this whole situation. Dripping wet and cold, the fourth Espada slopped his way across the grass, fully aware of the giggling that was rippling off the top of the hill where two young girls were playing soccer.

He ignored them as he passed, suppressing the urge to throw both Lilynette, her friend, and their dog in the pond as well. Then he reconsidered when he realized they could have very well caught the dog but hadn't.

Too late though, he was already beyond them.

Scanning the ground, he searched for any signs of the annoying animal. There was a wet streak across the grass and as he followed it with both his eyes and body, he soon saw the mischievous puppy sitting at the base of a pair of white sneakers. There was feminine hand sitting on its head as its tongue lolled about sloppily.

Glaring at it, the soaked teenager made his way to the group of people sitting at the picnic table beneath a large tree, his complete focus on the dog and how he was going to stop his hands from strangling it. It would prove a difficult task as his human body was prone to not listen to him, though in this situation he wouldn't really mind.

"Dog!" he stated loudly as he closed the last remaining distance between him and it. The beating tail stopped all of a sudden as it glanced up at him from beneath the female's hand, its face dropping and appearing afraid at the very sight of him.

Good, perhaps it would learn something from the fear he struck into its meager, unintelligent, insignificant soul.

Pulling the leash and collar from over his shoulder where he'd strapped it, the green eyed human wasted no time in bending over and buckling it around the fool beast's neck, making sure it was tight enough to keep it from escaping this time. It stared at him sadly and acted as though ashamed, and he rolled his eyes. As if some pathetic look like that was going to make him feel bad. He had no sense of pity, thus the animal would suffer the consequences of its actions… whatever those were. He didn't know anything about reprimanding puppies, but perhaps Grimmjow would have a few interesting ideas.

"Um…" the woman had removed her hand from the dogs head, apparently deciding it was an adequate time to speak. Ulquiorra paid her no attention; he had more important things to think about, like how long it took puppies to boil. "Ul… Ulquiorra?" Pausing in his strapping of the dog, he slowly raised his head, his hair falling away from his face as he caught the woman's eyes with his own.

Large gray eyes surrounded by a mass of orange colored hair.

He'd never forget those eyes, those innocent, pure silver orbs.

"Woman."

**oooooooooooooooooooooo **

Oh snap, how cliché, brought together again by a puppy. So cute, kind of ruins Ulquiorra's image with the shinigami though huh XD

And yes, I will look for any opportunity to include fuzzy animals in my stories, so deal with it. Everybody likes puppies and kittens, and if you don't then shame on you.

Much love till next time,

Toodles!  
R&R PLEASE!


	4. This Monster

**The Definition of Love**

_"So what if **you** can **see** the **darkest** side of **me**?_  
_No one will ever change this **animal I have become**_  
_Help me **believe** it's not the **real** me_  
_Somebody help me **tame** this **animal I have become**_  
_Help me **believe** it's not the **real** me_  
_Somebody help me **tame** this **animal**_

_Somebody **help** me through this **nightmare**_  
_I can't **control** myself_  
_Somebody **wake** me from this **nightmare**_  
_I can't **escape this hell"**_

**_Animal I Have Become - Three Days Grace_  
**

**Chapter 4: This Monster  
**

"You're being serious aren't you?" Uryu stated, his voice dropping. "But… why would he allow that? I… why didn't he dispose of them?" Ichigo sighed; he couldn't answer any of their questions. It was just as mind boggling to him as to them.

"Couldn't tell ya," Renji replied with a shrug. "He just dropped by, gave us the news, and left." The group fell silent, each pondering the information. They didn't quite know what to do with it. There didn't seem to be any actions that needed to take place, at least not any that wouldn't lead to their ultimate demises by Urahara.

"Well…" Orihime frowned, her thoughtful expression drawing their attention. Out of everyone there, she was the one they were all most concerned for. She didn't speak of her kidnapping very often, and it was a subject they were all slightly afraid to breach. How it had affected her mentally none of them could really tell. She had quickly returned to her normal self, something that worried a lot of her friends more so than if she'd been obviously distressed. "He said they were basically harmless, right? At least as harmless as humans can be…" she shrugged.

"Yeah, but…" Ichigo was beyond frustrated. His gut felt like he should do something, take precautions. But his head was telling him that Orihime was right, what could they possibly do? Each person in their party was perfectly capable of defending themselves against humans. He knew he was being paranoid, but how could he not be? After everything they had done…

"Don't stress about it Ichigo," Rukia reprimanded sharply. "We'll take action if the need arises." She placed her hand on his shoulder, her eyes softening after seeing his worried expression. "I know you," she smiled slightly, "you'll worry your head off about this, but it's really not necessary. Relax." Her voice was soft, soothing, and Ichigo could feel his heart slowly slightly in response.

"But two of them go to our school?" Uryu continued. "What if they're in our class? Which ones would be eligible to go to high school to begin with?" Ichigo's mood changed from worried to annoyed. He knew one. But he couldn't imagine that _that _particular Espada would have given human life a chance. Still, the thought rubbed him the wrong way.

"I don't know," Orihime replied innocently though her heart was racing. It could have very well been him, the man she'd seen the day they'd gone to the beach. Would he really have favored human life as opposed to hollow life? And if he had, was he one of the infamous high schoolers? She could only think of a select few of the Espada who appeared young enough to be their age, and he was one of them. The other…

She glanced at Ichigo's drawn, annoyed face and knew who _he_ was dreading.

There were a few others she supposed might fit that description, but not many.

Had it really been him?

She didn't know whether to dread the thought or be excited about it. She understood why her gut was jumping at the thought, a slight fear there. He had been her captor, her jailer, the main inflictor of her pain and suffering then, mentally at least.

But she'd failed him too…

Would this give her chance to try and reach him? Would he allow her to try? He'd mentioned finding his heart before he'd turned to dust. Had those thoughts stuck with him? Is that why he chose to be a human?

"Hey, I don't mean to change the subject," Tatsuki interjected into their thoughts, "but there's a rather large puppy racing this way." Turning, in their seats, Renji and Orihime turned to face the racing animal as Tatsuki was doing. The others stretched their necks to try and see.

It was wet and dirty, but appeared happy and well fed. They all automatically assumed it must have escaped from its owner and gone for a swim in the infamous mutant spawning pond that no one went anywhere near for fear of catching some alien disease. Poor thing was bound to grow two heads.

"Aw, he's so cute," Orihime cooed as it trotted up to the group. At the sound of her high pitched voice, it turned to her, tongue lolling playfully. "Look at his cute little eyebrows," she continued with a smile and it pounced over to her, tail wagging more viciously than before. Renji and Tatsuki shied away, the redhead plugging his nose while the other female waved her hand in front of her face. Orihime ignored the horrendous smell though and rubbed the animal's ears. It smiled and sat down at her feet, apparently content with the attention.

"It must belong to someone," Uryu muttered as he glanced around the area, but there was no one in sight that appeared to be searching for a lost dog. "Maybe we should go hunt around the park."

Ichigo sighed. "Always the good Samaritan…" he mumbled and sank back down on the bench, his head on his hands.

"As if you're one to talk," the quincy rebuked shortly and rolled his eyes. Orihime was still coddling the puppy and the others head fallen silent as they stared at the dog. It was a good distraction from their previous thoughts.

"Hey, look," Chad pointed to the pond and they all glanced over. A figure was spotted coming up over the hill, sopping wet and looking none too happy. He was dressed in dark clothing that covered most of his body, rather conservative considering it was summer, and dark tresses engulfed his pale face.

"Looks like that's our lottery winner," Renji chortled, a grin spreading across his face as the pathetic excuse of a human being spotted the dog and started making his way towards them. Orihime frowned; she'd been having fun with the puppy…

"Dog!" the man shouted and they all jumped at the sharpness of his voice. Ichigo immediately felt his skin prickle for no apparent reason. The puppy was suddenly very downcast and they all felt for the little guy seeing as he was probably going to be thoroughly reprimanded. Not that he probably didn't deserve it.

It took the man only seconds to reach them and with sharp movements he was latching the collar around the animal's neck, impatience and irritation obvious in every movement he made. Renji and Tatsuki continued to scoot away, the smell of the polluted pond all the stronger now that the infamous dog owner had arrived.

They could only fathom what had happened.

"Um," Orihime placed her forefinger on her lip as she stared down at the soaking duo. She could vaguely see the outline of a frown through the man's mop of hair. He had soft features, though no laugh lines which was never a good sign. His complexion was as white and smooth as marble. And as he moved his head, she caught a glimpse of green eyes, deep forest green eyes. Eyes that were far too green to be natural.

They were familiar green eyes.

"Ul-Ulquiorra?" he paused in his capture of the dog and glanced up at her, his hair falling away to reveal a familiar face. There were no tear tattoos, but it was him. Orihime's heart jumped into her throat as recognition slowly dawned on his face as well. It wasn't an expression anyone other than herself would have noticed, but she'd been around him enough to recognize the signs. The way his lips tightened ever so slightly, how his eyes flashed.

She didn't know whether to be scared or relieved.

"Woman." He stated simply, the silence between them erupting up once again. They stared at each other, frozen, silver meeting emerald in an unblinking conversation that neither could decipher. Orihime could feel the tension quickly rising behind her as her friends started taking up protective stances. And as Ulquiorra's gaze quickly flicked over to spot them, she felt his own unease enter the already edgy atmosphere.

She had to do, _say_, something to halt any violent confrontations. So she went with the first thing that came to mind.

"Why… why are you all wet?" The question sounded stupid, but it drew the Espada's attention back to her and caused pause in her companions unfriendly advances. "You know, you're not supposed to swim in that pond, it's… really polluted." Her lame attempt to distract the group had prevailed momentarily. They all sat back, watching the exchange intently if not over protectively.

At first she thought he wasn't going to answer, but after he took another glance at the other people present, he must have decided that it was in his best interests to do so.

"I had no intention of swimming in the reservoir," he explained quietly, his soft voice as calm as it always had been. "The animal escaped its confines and vaulted into the water."

"And you jumped in after it?" Tatsuki smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. She knew who he was; remembered him from the first attack he'd made on Karakura town when he and his giant friend had almost killed her. But Orihime seemed to have the situation under control, so she'd just watch and see what this so called human-hollow decided to do.

"No," he responded civilly. "I was pushed," Orihime saw him consider something before continuing, "by Grimmjow." If any word could set off an invisible bomb, that was the one to do it. Ichigo visibly stiffened when Orihime glanced over at him, his face going from one of loathing suspicion to one of undiluted rage. The long haired female turned back to Ulquiorra who was still crouching next to her and gave him a disapproving look. His lips stiffened and she could tell that he had fully intended to induce such a reaction. Not that she blamed, now a lot of the attention focused elsewhere.

And as if on cue, a raging voice could be heard yelling profanities as another soaking figure made its way over the hill and into their line of vision.

"God dammit Ulquiorra you fucking asshole, you know I hate water!" The green eyed Espada rolled his eyes and Orihime couldn't hold back a giggle. His green orbs snapped back to her at the high pitched sound and she stopped immediately, an old reaction to his penetrating gaze.

But, unless her eyes were deceiving her, she had seen a light pinkness rise to his cheeks before it was forcefully pushed back down again.

"I'm gonna kick your ass you little wretch!" Grimmjow sported a pair of baggy khaki shorts and a black sweatshirt with azure blue designs. Combat boots were his shoe of choice and they were very well complimented by the murky water dripping from every surface of his being.

He pushed his blue hair back with his hand to reveal a deadly scowl. Like Ulquiorra, he also lacked his facial tattoos and, obviously, hollow mask, though he still remained just as threatening with his large muscles and tall stature.

Though the way he held his arms out from his body to avoid the water as much as possible did give him a slightly comical air.

It was at the point that Ulquiorra finally stood up that Grimmjow paused in his advance, his expression going from one of anger to shock when he saw the people that currently surrounded his brother by force.

Turning, the fourth Espada greeted him with a deeper frown then any Grimmjow had ever witnessed. For whatever reason, both individuals felt as though they'd suddenly been caught, busted, and that all hope of escape was futile.

"Someone's looking like a doused cat," Ichigo snarled, his comical comment coming off much more threateningly then what was probably necessary. The sixth Espada glared at the orange haired shinigami, his shock quickly evaporating.

"Shut up Kurosaki," was his lame reply. Ichigo raised a single eyebrow skeptically; a challenge if anyone had ever seen one. Standing, the youngest shinigami never took his eyes off his rival.

"What's going on?" Glancing over, Ulquiorra spotted Lilynette and Karin making their way towards the hostile group, looks of confusion on both their faces. Lilynette glanced from Ulquiorra to Grimmjow. "Why… why are you guys wet…?"

"It doesn't matter Liliynette," Grimmjow spat and she flinched.

"Ichigo? What's going on?" Karin had turned to her brother, confused by the look of complete disgust and rage plastered across his normally grumpy face.

"Ichigo?" Lilynette turned to Karin abruptly, her face paling. And from there her gaze drifted to the group of teenagers around the picnic table. "The… orange haired shinigami?" All eyes were on her now as her expression changed from one of confusion to one of complete and utter horror. Her eyes bugged with terror as she stared up at Ichigo, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Her hands were shaking as she gripped the dog leash in her hand, her knuckles as white as bone with the effort.

Rukia had never seen Ichigo sober up from a rage more quickly in the time she had known him.

"How do you know my brother?" Karin asked suspiciously, completely oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. "And how do you know he's a shinigami?" Turning slowly, the blonde girl stared at the younger Kurosaki with wide eyes.

"He… he's your _brother_?" she whispered and Karin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Reaching out her hand to grab her friends shoulder, everyone was shocked when the blonde pulled away abruptly, viciously slapping the comforting gesture away. "**Don't touch me**!" She screamed hysterically, her puppy whimpering at the surging emotions in the area. Grimmjow visually reacted to her screaming and took a step toward her, his face contorted in worry and apprehension.

Turning to Ichigo again, Lilynette glared at him in anger and fear, tears running down her cheeks. "Leave us alone!" she shrieked and backed away from Karin. "We haven't done anything, so leave us alone!" Grimmjow was at her side now, holding her shoulders as she shuddered from the pure pressure of her own emotions.

She jumped at his touch and turned, staring up into his blue eyes whence another surge of tears cascaded down her cheeks. Sobbing, she pushed at his stomach, urging him backwards with her small pale hands.

"Let's go home!" she cried and shook her head when Grimmjow didn't react to her light shoving. "Please, I want t-to go h-home!" She was hiccupping and sobbing, her legs shaking as she stood unsteadily in the grass. "I w-want to go home to H-H-Harribel! Please!"

"Okay, okay," Grimmjow assured in a low, strained voice. "Just… relax okay, we're going home." The blue haired Espada was obviously nerved up by the little girl's sudden reaction and was unsure what else to do. He'd never heard or seen Lilynette so terrified of anything. Glancing up, he saw Ichigo staring at her with wide eyes, his mouth set in a straight line, his fists clenched at his side.

He looked like he was holding his breath.

Orihime had seen Ulquiorra tense at her side, his eyes slowly widening as he watched the blonde girl work herself into a tantrum. Apparently neither of the older boys had been expecting such a dramatic reaction to Ichigo's presence.

It only took a few seconds for Grimmjow's gaze to flicker from Ichigo to Ulquiorra, a pleading expression on his face as he questioned the fourth Espada on what exactly was going on. By this time Lilynette had pulled the larger man down to her level and had buried her face in his shoulder while gripping his sweatshirt along with the leash in her tense fingers.

This display seemed to snap Ulquiorra out of his revere for the next moment he was swiftly retreating from the group under the trees to join his two family members. Grimmjow was at a complete loss and, as this was obvious, Ulquiorra handed him the leash to his own tense, wet dog before bending down next to the shivering girl.

Softly placing his one hand around her waist, he used the other to pry her fingers from Grimmjow's sweatshirt and pull her towards him instead. She dropped the leash to her own puppy in the process and Grimmjow quickly retrieved it, feeling useless otherwise as the girl was pulled to Ulquiorra's chest instead. She gripped his shirt with the same tightness as she had been before; her eyes squeezed shut as she shoved her face into the crook between the fourth Espada's neck and shoulder.

Wrapping his arms around her delicately, he hefted her small, gangly adolescent body into the air. She was light, and it was easy to shift her weight to his hips so he could support her. She was still shaking though and he rubbed his hand up and down her back, hoping to calm her, while the other was wrapped around her rear as support.

"Lilynette…?" Karin's eyes were wide as she watched the exchange, hurt and confusion evident in every move she made. Her gaze shifted between the blonde girl and her brother, but she could make nothing of the situation.

"We're going home," Ulquiorra's voice was just above a whisper, soft and monotonous, calming. "So calm down." The younger girl didn't say anything and with one final glance at the group of people beneath the picnic table, he turned and started back the way they had come.

Grimmjow cast one final look at them as well before he scowled down at the puppies and began dragging them along behind. As if there were an invisible barrier between the two groups, no words were exchanged, and the three hollows vanished over the hill as if they had never been there.

The only proof that they _had_ been was the look of betrayal and confusion Karin cast at her brother, and his empty, tense one in response.

"What's going on Ichigo?" she demanded, her grip on the soccer ball tightening. "Do you and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra not like each other?"A few mouths dropped open at her familiarity with those names, as if knowing them was completely normal. "How do they know you're a shinigami? And why… why is Lilynette afraid of you?"

"Be quiet for a minute Karin," Rukia ordered shortly. Karin shut her mouth, her lips forming a tight line as she fought to keep silent. "Ichigo?" Rukia turned to face him and his empty, tense face. It was then that Karin realized he hadn't heard anything she'd said. Something was going on, something serious. "Ichigo, look at me," Rukia seemed really worried now, they all did. He was sinking. Karin had seen him like this a few times before, when he had attempted to take the weight of the world on his shoulders and beat himself up over it when he'd obviously buckled under the weight.

That kind of glazed stare scared her.

"Ichigo, c'mon, snap out of it!" Rukia exclaimed, her voice demanding despite her concerned expression. She grabbed his hands with hers. "Ichigo! I'm serious, if you don't get a grip I'm-"

"She looked at me like I was a _monster_," he muttered, barely loud enough for all of them to hear. "Like I was… like I was going to…" His eyes flickered to stare at Rukia, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and… self loathing. "She's Yuzu and Karin's age and she's… she's _terrified_ of me."

"Ichigo, she's not…" Rukia couldn't think of what to say and she shook her head, doing her best to try and convince the younger shinigami that what he said was false despite having no evidence. She was failing, she knew, because what he said was true. That little girl, ex-hollow or not, had been completely and utterly petrified by the powerful shinigami.

"A little girl is afraid of me…" They all understood why he was so distraught. It was one thing to strike fear in your enemies, to cause that kind of terrified expression to cross an adults face, but it was entirely different to see that stare of horror on a child's face. They all knew the kind of honor that ran through Ichigo's veins. No matter who or what, he would not hesitate to protect those who could not do so themselves. He had dedicated his life to saving the innocent, and children were the pinnacle of that characterization.

To see a little girl, one the same age as the sisters he loved so much, stare at him like that… it would crush him.

"It's just a misunderstanding Ichigo," Rukia tried to reason but he shook his head.

"No it's not," he argued, "I… to them I am-"

"Stop it," the dark haired shinigami commanded sharply, her hands squeezing his tightly. "What's done is done and you can't do anything about it. You did what you had to back then, so don't you dare envelope yourself in your own self-pity Kurosaki." His eyes flashed and he glared at her. "Wallowing in your own depressed thoughts won't solve anything." The thought of him doing so scared them all.

It was true though none of them liked to admit it. Ichigo was a ticking bomb sometimes.

Urahara, after the war while Ichigo had been recovering, had explained to them all, well, Ichigo's closest friends and Isshin, in detail what Ichigo was, what he'd gone through. That there was in fact a hollow inside him and that he fought every day to keep it at bay just so he could gain enough power to protect the people he loved. Hollow's fed on the soul, and when Ichigo was depressed, when he felt himself not worthy enough to defend those he wanted to, his hollow would feed on that and seek to destroy him, seek to destroy all he loved.

They worked in opposition. Ichigo was the protector, his hollow the destroyer. And when the younger shinigami didn't feel confident in his abilities, the hollow would take advantage. They didn't know how it worked exactly, if the hollow was just a feeling or if Ichigo could hear it or even talk to it, but they knew that if they didn't keep him stable in his abilities, they risked losing him completely. And if the hollow took over…

Urahara had warned that it could be potentially dangerous for them all. Ichigo was too powerful, his hollow too powerful, to let such insanity reign supreme.

No one said anything as the two shinigami stared at each other, Rukia's hard, dark eyes boring into Ichigo's soft brown ones. Orihime watched as her gaze, the silent message she conveyed, slowly built back up what the little hollow girl had shattered.

The other female was in awe. She'd seen Rukia do this so many times. It's like she always knew exactly what to say, exactly what to do, to drag Ichigo from the depths of his depression. Every time, when Orihime had been unable to do anything, the petite shinigami had succeeded where she had failed.

The orange haired female knew why too. She was too soft. When Ichigo felt down on himself, all she wanted to do was hold him and make him feel better. But that only made things worse. Rukia wasn't that sentimental, she was able to push her emotions aside, her concern and love for Ichigo (Orihime wasn't as blind as she made herself out to be), to see the big picture. Ichigo had to be kicked back into action; he had to see what a fool he was being. Rukia challenged him, competed with him, thus causing him to rise to the occasion.

Orihime always _let_ him win.

She didn't have it in her to hurt anyone, let alone her friends with harsh words that may or may not be necessary. She liked making people feel good about themselves, and making Ichigo feel terrible about himself so he could find the drive to push himself back up was something she'd never be able to do.

"Then what exactly am I supposed to do?" he rebuked hotly though there was a sense of hopelessness in his voice despite his temper. "I can't just… go… _apologize_ for- for the war!"

"Why not?" Rukia asked simply with a shrug and he gaped at her. "Ichigo, we were at _war_, we didn't have a choice, they attacked us and we attacked them." She shook her head. "Maybe we can't fix the past, and maybe the future isn't even that certain, but we can try. Perhaps Urahara is right about them, that they're only trying to live normal lives. If they are then maybe it's time to put all this… ugliness behind us." She smiled softly. "And I know that if you don't at least try," she whispered, "you'll be worrying about it forever.

"So!" she clapped Ichigo's hands together with a wide grin. "Get your ass down there to straighten this whole thing out!"

Ichigo didn't believe it could be that easy.

**oOo**

"What happened?" Harribel was rushing towards them, her purple skirt flowing out behind her as she rushed towards the trio. Grimmjow dropped the leashes and leaped out of the way as she fussed her way to Ulquiorra. "Is she hurt?"

"Physically? No," Ulquiorra answered as he set the blonde girl on her feet. She had calmed considerably on the way back, even gone so far as to mumble small curses about Ichigo and how he was going to screw everything up. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow couldn't fathom what was going through her head, so they hadn't even tried. Harribel would get this straightened out.

"Well what's going on then?" Harribel inquired as she placed her arms protectively around Lilynette who didn't object and was perfectly comfortable being shielded by the tall woman.

"Fuckin' bullshit," Grimmjow cursed. "We ran into damn Ichigo Kurosaki." Harribel's eyes widened in surprise. "But that's not the worst part. Those little girls that come around here, Karin and Yuyu or whatever? They're his little sisters." Harribel's mouth dropped open in disbelief. And then suddenly something was very clear to her. No wonder that man, Isshin, had acted so strangely around her. He was the orange haired shinigami's father. Had he realized who she was? What she had been?

If he had though, wouldn't he have stopped his children from coming around?

"You think they were sending those twins over to spy on us?" Grimmjow accused suspiciously.

"No," Harribel immediately replied. There was no way a little girl as sweet as Yuzu would do such a horrendous thing. This had to be… just a coincidence. Unless… had Urahara…

"Do we have to leave now?" Lilynette pulled herself back from Harribel's embrace, her eyes becoming watery again. "Is Soul Society going to come get us? Is he going to tell them? Are we going to b-be separated?" It was then that Grimmjow and Ulquiorra understood where her outburst had come from.

It wasn't like Lilynette to be so emotional, at least in this sense. She had a temper, and she had a rather immature kind of humor, but for her to break down in tears like that? It was a weakness that she would never want to be seen, hence why Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had been so surprised.

But now they understood.

Everyone had deepest, darkest fears, the kind that could make a grown man break down and cry. Lilynette's was loneliness. When she'd seen Ichigo, the first thoughts that had run through her were whether or not her family was going to be split up. To her, the orange haired shinigami represented the demise of her previous family. Granted, the ten Espada had hardly been a family, but they had been better than nothing to her. Yet that shinigami and his friends had come in and destroyed them.

Had it not been for the Hogyoku's power, she would have lost them forever.

Now she had a family again, a real one, something better than anything she'd ever had before, and Ichigo represented the destruction of that. He could destroy them with a single swing of his zanpakuto, imprison them with a single word to soul society, separate them with the flick of his hand. Yes, they all knew he had that power. He had to; he had practically ended the war by himself. He must be held in the highest esteem by soul society, or so Lilynette figured.

And they were human. They didn't stand a fighting chance against him.

"Is that why you're so upset?" Harribel whispered. "No, we're not going to be separated." The mother of the house stroked the pre-teens head. "Don't worry about that, I'll make sure that nothing comes between us, any of us." These words seemed to comfort the younger girl slightly and a small grin graced her chapped lips. Smiling back down at her, Harribel motioned to the husky running around in the living room and Lilynette brightened considerably before bounding over to the animal, leaving the three older individuals in the kitchen alone.

"You shouldn't make promises you don't know if you can keep," Ulquiorra muttered as he placed his hands in his pockets, though his warning was quickly overshadowed by Grimmjow's temper.

"I'm gonna kick his little orange ass," he exclaimed furiously. "Making Lilynette cry like that, the fuck does he think he is?" Ulquiorra held back an eye roll. Ichigo Kurosaki was Ichigo Kurosaki, the most powerful being in the living and dead realms. But apparently Grimmjow was forgetting that small fact.

"He didn't do it on purpose," Ulquiorra stated and the blue haired teenager turned to him angrily.

"You're defending him now?"

"No, just stating a fact."

"Well you can take your facts and shove them right up your-"

"That's enough you two," Harribel reprimanded and Grimmjow fell silent, crossing his arms over his chest angrily. "This is a bit of a delicate situation though. I'm not quite sure what to do…" She wrapped her arms under her breasts thoughtfully.

"I already told ya," Grimmjow fumed. "I'm gonna kick his ass until he don't even remember who we are." Ulquiorra took a deep breath and tried to ignore the sixth Espada's idiocy. His ignorance was beyond irritating, even if it was only fueled by rage.

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" the fourth Espada challenged. "He's the strongest human, shinigami, and hollow in the world. Yet you're going to 'kick his ass.' Please Grimmjow, you couldn't have even done that a year ago." The blue haired man glared at his brother, about to say something that Ulquiorra was _sure_ was witty and clever, but then a knock on the door interrupted him.

They all turned to stare at the door, their faces paling. The only visitors they got were Karin and Yuzu…

Ulquiorra saw both Grimmjow and Harribel visibly tense, neither of them making a move to open the door. Sighing, he quickly placed one foot in front of the other, determined to not let a simple visitor scare him half to death. It was probably just a dictionary salesman or something…

Grabbing hold of the silver knob, he swung the door open, a fresh frown ready and waiting to greet their invader.

She stared up at him nervously, one of her fingers placed on her bottom lip in anxiety. The fourth Espada's eyes visibly widened, though he was able to control his mouth, which had felt like dropping open at the sight of her. Huffing, she never took her eyes off him and stated a simple-

"Hi!" her orange hair slid down her shoulders, her silver eyes boring into his green ones. "I know this probably isn't a good time, but we didn't want you guys to get to worried or anything. And since I already know you," her gaze flickered momentarily over his shoulder and he was suddenly aware that both Grimmjow and Harribel were standing behind him. Why did that bother him? "Well, I know you better than anyone else anyway," her eyes shifted back to him and she laughed. "Plus I'm pretty useless so I'm not threatening either so, um…" She sighed. "Please listen okay? Everyone decided it would be best to send me over here because, well, we don't…want to fight with you…"

"You're that woman that…" Harribel came forward, forcing Ulquiorra to take a step out and closer to the orange haired girl. Her eyes flashed to him before going back to Harribel, though why he didn't know. She was obviously uncomfortable, but he couldn't help her. "You're Orihime Inoue."

"Yes," she breathed, a smile gracing her lips. It was different than before the green eyed teenager noted. Her expression that is. He didn't remember ever seeing her smile before… "And I come in peace," she placed her hands in the air innocently. I just… I just want to talk."

"Then talk," Grimmjow commanded irritably and her smile faltered.

"Well, um, I'm actually here for Ichigo…"

"Why couldn't he come himself?" the blue haired man hissed and their visitor flinched, her smile vanishing entirely. Ulquiorra frowned at this development, unhappy that she was obviously scared of them, well, of Grimmjow at least. Telling her he was really just a whiny brat probably wouldn't do anything either.

"He wanted to," she defended, "but we all convinced him to send me first so that… so that nothing… _violent_ erupted." Grimmjow scoffed. "I'm telling the truth," she continued. "He really doesn't want to start anything with you guys, honest. Please, if you'd let him talk, I promise that he has no ill intentions. He's waiting to come and-"

"We won't do anything to him," _like we could_, "if he's willing to come to a peace compromise." Harribel's voice was cold, and the orange haired woman was visibly shrinking under her presence. Ulquiorra found that this bothered him as well.

"Okay good," she did seem relieved though and with a quick skip she went to the end of their short driveway, waved down the street, and scampered back. "He's coming," she assured. It was only a few seconds later that a spiky orange head made its way across their driveway and up to their front porch. He was frowning, his muscular stature slouching sloppily.

Grimmjow growled but held his tongue with a sharp look from Harribel. Orihime stepped aside so they all had a clear view of Ichigo, her new position right next to Ulquiorra. The fourth Espada pretended not to notice.

"If you're going to talk then talk," Harribel demanded when he didn't immediately jump into speech. He did however finally glance up at her, his wide brown eyes shocked by her sharpness. He gulped.

"Well I…" he scratched the back of his head, obviously uncomfortable. "You see… I came over to… I want to… well, the war is over and…"

"You're _really_ bad at this aren't you?" Grimmjow grumbled from behind Harribel, his arms crossed over his chest, an unimpressed expression plastered to his face. Their guests' eyes flashed, honey brown meeting with azure blue and sparks flew, the dangerous kind.

"And what would _that_ be?" the shinigami hissed, his nervousness evaporating at the sight of his blue haired rival.

"Apologizing," Grimmjow stated simply, arrogantly.

"'Apologize'?" Ichigo scoffed. "I'm not here to 'apologize.'" The blue haired mans eyes narrowed and his opponent followed suit. Harribel raised her eyebrows skeptically and the girl sighed, her orange hair moving in graceful waves as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Then why are you here?" the sixth Espada instigated and took a step forward.

"Not to talk to you for one," the shinigami rebuked and Grimmjow growled, pushing past a surprised Harribel to get right in the orange haired teenagers face. But Ichigo didn't even flinch at the sudden attack, just stood there glaring at his taller counterpart (a fact that was obviously irritating to the shinigami), their noses only centimeter apart. They had their chests puffed like peacocks and Ulquiorra wondered of this was some show of pathetic male dominance.

"I'll kick your ass you little bitch," Grimmjow threatened, his blue eyes burning with anger as his fists clenched at his side. Nostrils flaring, Grimmjow was beyond irate when all the shinigami did was smirk.

"You and what fucking army?" Ichigo whispered dangerously, the threat sliding by Grimmjow completely, but hitting both Harribel and Ulquiorra like a slap in the face. They didn't have any army, and they'd need more than that to stop the irritated strawberry. "Now get out of the way, I said I had no interest in speaking to you."

"Well that's too damn bad isn't it," Grimmjow murmured.

"Alright, that's enough," Harribel stated sternly. "Back off Grimmjow…" No response. "_Now_." Scowling, the corner of his lips rising in disgust to reveal dangerously large canines, Grimmjow took a step back, his eyes never leaving his rivals. "Thank you," the third Espada nodded before once again shifting her gaze to Ichigo. "Why are you here Ichigo Kurosaki?" Now that his temper had been flared, the shinigami had no problems talking.

"Let's get one thing straight first," he held up one finger, his searing glare still focused on Grimmjow, "I'm _not_ here to apologize for anything. I haven't done anything wrong if you guys haven't, end of story." Grimmjow scoffed and the orange haired teenager growled. "You want to contradict me? The only reason you're so bitter is because you lost. If you remember, you attacked me first, so don't think your sad story about being humans is going to get to me." The sixth Espada was shaking in anger. "Get over yourselves." Stepping forwards, Ulquiorra grabbed his brother by the shoulder, not allowing him to pounce on the shinigami.

"Second," Ichigo's eyes fell in Harribel, "Urahara came and warned me about you guys, so this isn't coming as a surprise. I don't know what you're thinking I'm going to do, but I can tell you that as of now I have no plans other than to go on as if nothing has changed."

"Please," Grimmjow just couldn't help stirring the pot. "What a load of shit. You're Soul Society's little pet aren't ya, their little hollow experiment? What reason do we have to trust that you won't turn us in whenever the moment strikes you?" Ichigo's face flushed in anger; apparently Grimmjow had struck a chord.

"You don't know anything," he hissed. "So don't accuse _me_ of anything. If you really must know, I'm not affiliated with Soul Society directly," he sounded bitter, "so you have nothing to worry about. As for what else you said, I'm just going to leave it at 'it's none of your business,' so shut the fuck up."

"I'm going to beat the shit out of you!" Grimmjow roared and Ulquiorra feared that he wouldn't be able to hold him back. Luckily however, Ichigo stopped him dead in his tracks.

"How the hell are you going to do that?" he yelled. "You're a human Grimmjow so stop shoving your mouth where it doesn't belong; you don't stand a chance against me, so back down!" Grimmjow was still shaking. "If you must know, you guys are so helpless that Urahara is forcing me to protect you from hollows cuz I guess you're leaking reiatsu like it was fucking candy!" Ulquiorra blinked in surprise and Harribel took in a quick breath. "Yeah, that's right, so back. The hell. **Down**."

"We don't need protection from you asshole!"

"Well then good luck surviving here!" Ichigo snapped, "Because, thanks to you guys, the pressure balance in Karakura is beyond screwed! Hollows are drawn to it like flies! But I guess if you want to throw away what little life you seem to have gained after the war, I guess that's not my problem!"

"You're right, it's not, so get lost!" Harribel was shaking her head, her hand rubbing her temples in aggravation. Orihime was dancing around behind Ulquiorra, her nervousness not allowing her to stand still, whereas the fourth Espada still had Grimmjow's arm latched in his hand, his knuckles white and tense as he waited for something disastrous to befall them.

"What are you going to do Grimmjow, huh? Protect them yourself? You're pathetic!" Ichigo was shaking his head with disgust. "You wouldn't stand a chance against the lowest of the low hollow, let alone the menos and arrancar that frequent this area!"

"Well I don't need the help of a half-hollow _bastard_ shinigami like you! Apparently your own people don't want you, so why should we!"

That did it.

Growling, Ichigo balled his hands into fists, blood dripped down as his fingernails created jagged cuts in his palm. The wind had picked up, swirling around their shocked faces as the orange haired shinigami failed to control his breathing. They could all plainly see his reiatsu surrounding him in light blue flames, his eyes turning as cold as ice in the dead of winter. Their skin burned yet they were shivering. Sweat rolled down their cheeks, the pressure causing all four humans to fall to the ground.

Little did they know how much in control their guest really was. Almost one-hundred percent of his reiatsu was capped, if it wasn't then every single person before him would be dead, and his own human body destroyed in the process.

Descending on Grimmjow, the shinigami glared down at him. The blue haired man was breathing hard, gasping as he labored to stay alive with Ichigo standing so close to him. Ulquiorra was staring up at the sky next to him, eye closed as he focused only on trying to survive the next thirty seconds.

"You _ever_," Ichigo bent over, his face only inches from Grimmjow's as he pointed the Espada in the chest, his voice as distant as the wind yet as close as a whisper, "say _anything_ like that to me **again** and I **will** fucking kill you **my**_**self**_."

Despite their dire situation, Grimmjow still managed to glare up at the shinigami before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out cold.

Satisfied, Ichigo took a step back, and like a light switch had been flipped, his reiatsu vanished and the wind disappeared, leaving the three still conscious humans to gasp for breath.

"Sorry Orihime," he muttered and she glanced up at him, sweat falling down her face in waves. "I… forgot you were there, otherwise I would have warned you to put up one of your shields." She just nodded and, satisfied that she would live, the shinigami turned on his heel. He couldn't stand to look at Grimmjow anymore.

Without a second glance he stalked away, not at all surprised to see everyone else that had been camped out at his house rushing down the road towards him.

Placing her hand on her chest, Orihime calmed her racing heart. She was just glad that nothing else had come of Ichigo's warning, for that's what she knew it was. And, from the words that were exchanged, apparently Grimmjow had needed it.

She could hear labored breathing in front of her and glancing up from where she was crouched on all fours, she saw Ulquiorra staring up at her from his spot flat on the ground. He was also sweating like madman, but his face was still frowning.

Orihime smiled and he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.

"Well that went well I think," she laughed.

Ulquiorra, for the first time since he could remember, let his jaw lower into a gape.

**oooooooooooooooooooooo**

Snap! Ichigo was PISSED! Haha, love him though anyway. And Grimmjow too :) They're more alike than they would ever care to admit.

I've gotten a few complaints about the lack of Ulquihime and this is what I have to say in response to this. Yes, the main couple in this is Orihime and Ulquiorra, but I'm NOT a smut writer, though there will be some lemon later, BUT I like plot, and with plot comes other people, especially in bleach since there are characters galore, and a slower development in relationships must ensue (blasphemy I know because Ulquiorra and Orihime should have been _all_ over each other by now because that's _so_ realistic). There will be focuses on other characters as well, so if you don't like it then LEAVE! PLOT LIVES HERE AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW HIM THEN HE DON'T WANT TO KNOW YOU!

Also, I want to thank those kind reviewers who pointed out some of my errors, apparently I'm not as well versed in the terminology of Bleach as I thought I was, but I will be more careful from now on :D

Well, love ya all lots!

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE!


	5. Relief For My Tainted Soul

**The Definition of Love**

_"You and I are like **oil** and **water**_  
_ And we've been trying, trying, **trying**_  
_ Ohhhh, to mix it up._  
_ We've been **dancing** on a **volcano**_  
_ And we've been crying, crying, **crying**_  
_ Over **blackened souls**._  
_ Babe, this wouldn't be the **first** time,_  
_ it will not be the **last** time._  
_ There is no parasol that would shelter this **weather**."_

**_Oil and Water - Incubus _**

**Chapter 5: Relief For My Tainted Soul**

He'd really screw things up this time.

Gripping his orange hair with both hands, the shinigami sat down on his bed and closed his eyes.

He shouldn't have blown up at Grimmjow like that. Granted the guy drove him crazy, but he should have been the bigger person. Instead he'd only ended up waving his power in their faces, making a bigger mess probably. He couldn't imagine suddenly losing his powers like that, it must have been terrible for them…

But still, what did they expect from him? What did Grimmjow expect? They obviously hadn't forgiven him for what he'd done so why should he forgive them? What should he do, try to be friends with them? Ignore them?

No matter the case, he should never act the way he did that afternoon… but that blue haired freak just rubbed him the wrong way! Some of the things he'd said just…

And then he'd yelled at his friends when they'd run to the scene of the outburst, concerned. He'd yelled at Rukia when she'd yelled at him for being the idiot that he was. And then he'd snapped at Karin who'd only wanted to know what was going on in the first place.

He had a really good track record going for the day.

Groaning, Ichigo flopped back onto his back and stared at the ceiling. A few birds could be heard chirping outside his window, but aside from that it was silent. No children in the streets, no creaking as people walked about downstairs, no hushed voices talking about him down below.

So peaceful, so serene. Why couldn't life be like this?

_"Because then it'd all be too easy." _

Ichigo gasped and surged forward, rubbing his temples as pain shot through his skull like a lightning bolt.

"What do _you_ want?" he grumbled irritably. "I thought you'd left, what with there being no serious fighting going on."

_"Me, leave? Please, that's impossible; you know that as well as I do."_

"A guy can always hope…"

"_Well that was mean," laughter, "All I've ever done is help you, and this is the attitude I get in return? How ungrateful." _

"Don't mock me."

_"I'm not mocking you. Am I now not allowed to voice my own thoughts? You know I get kind of bored in here all the time, day in and day out. You shouldn't leave me to my own devices all the time."_

_ "_What? Do you want a chance to stretch your legs?" Ichigo scoffed. "Well, you can forget about that."

_"So cruel,"_ he sounded almost bitter.

"Just shut up so I can go back to ignoring you."

"_You can't ignore me forever Ichigo,"_ he taunted.

"Watch me."

_"Oh I am, trust me. I'm biding my time, you'll see." _

"What's that supposed to mean?" Silence. "Hey, answer me!"

"Who are you talking to?" Starting, Ichigo turned to his door, eyes wide in surprise. "You scare me sometimes, you know that?" Rukia took another step into the room, her arms crossed over chest. "I'm starting to think you're going insane."

The orange haired teenager snorted and shook his head. "I've been going insane for awhile I think." Rukia frowned and made her way over to her shinigami partner before sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Are you… alright Ichigo?" he stared down at her, unenthused. "And I don't mean about what just happened," she clarified. "I mean, are _you_ alright?" He sighed. His short friend was the only one among the lot brave enough to bring up _that_.

"Well, aside from just now," the orange haired boy rolled his eyes, "I've been fine. I think all those familiar faces and my anger got to him." He sighed. "It's been rather… quiet since the end of the war. I dunno, maybe since I'm not fighting all the time he's calmed down." The girl cocked her head to the side.

"Maybe," she agreed and set her hand down on the bed behind her, leaning back. "Are you going to tell Karin what's going on? I mean, her and that little hollow girl seem to be pretty good friends."

"I don't know," he growled and flopped back down on his bed. "I don't think she needs to know the details, but if I can convince them that I'm not a threat then perhaps they can still… be friends."

"You don't sound completely okay with that idea," Rukia laughed.

"How can I be?" he frowned. "I mean, both Yuzu and Karin have been over there multiple times and never acted like they were threatened. I don't know, it's just… such a weird concept." Rukia frowned too and fell back, her face level with Ichigo's as they stared at each other.

"I think they're safe going over there," she decided. "I believe that they don't want any trouble. I know how you feel, but everyone deserves a second chance, right?" She smiled softly, reassuringly, and the motion immediately set his mind at ease.

"Yeah, I guess…"

**oOo**

"I restored his reiatsu though it will probably be a few hours before he wakes up," the orange haired girl smiled up at the blonde woman. "I don't think Ichigo meant to weaken him so much, he just…"

"You don't need to apologize for him," Harribel reassured coldly and Orihime's smile faltered. The older of the two sighed. "What I mean is that Grimmjow deserved it. Maybe it will teach him to keep his mouth shut, though I don't condone the shinigami's actions either. They both acted like children."

"They really rub each other the wrong way huh?" the princess mumbled and stood where she'd been kneeling on the porch. The blue haired Espada laid at her feet in damp clothes, a peaceful expression on his face. "Well, who's next then?" Turning in a circle, she was surprised to find that her other patient had left. "What does he think he's doing?" she huffed. "He got his reiatsu zapped too; he won't be able to walk straight for a week if I don't heal him."

"I assume he must have gone to his room," the blonde replied and a thoughtful expression momentarily crossed her face. "You can go up to him if you want, I'll drag this idiot inside." Orihime raised her eyebrows, apparently surprised. "Well you said it yourself, he won't be able to walk straight, let alone fight you off," Harribel continued. "The stairs are to your left when you reach the living room, and his room is the first one on the left side." Nodding, the orange haired girl cocked her head to the side thoughtfully before turning on her heel and heading into the house.

Harribel smiled.

**oOo**

Damn that shinigami and damn this cursed human body. He hadn't felt this weak since… well he'd never felt this weak. Even when he'd been damned to death, or so he'd thought, by the very same shinigami, he hadn't felt this weak. Yes, there had been pain and immobility, but never this sickening, nauseas weakness.

He felt like he was going to throw up. Though that would be a new experience he supposed. Still, one he'd like to postpone if at all possible.

And then there was that woman. She only added to his infirmity. Her proximity to him had caused him immense discomfort, though why he could only fathom. He didn't understand the signals his body was sending him. When he'd been a hollow, he'd never experienced such strange sensations, other than at the very end, and he still didn't understand what _that_ meant, other than the fact that it was in fact an emotion, proving that Ichigo Kurosaki had been right; he'd gradually grown closer to being human. He'd even expressed anger that very same day.

Now he _was_ human yet all answers eluded him. He knew nothing more than he had then. But that was where the problem was. He couldn't control this soft-skinned suit. Yet he reacted to things without even thinking about it. How was he supposed to puzzle all this out if he didn't even know where to start? It was frustrating.

Well, **that** was one he _did_ understand. Frustration and annoyance were the only emotions he could somewhat grasp seeing as they were rather dominant most of the time. Still, there were those strange… "fluttering" moments that he couldn't dissect. Like when he'd seen that woman for the first time in the park. His stomach had felt like it'd flipped on its side and been sick. It had been… disconcerting. And his head had felt suddenly high, his lips twitching in strange upward directions, almost as if…

And it had happened again when he'd answered the door. There she had stood, all smiles, yet he'd been… he still didn't know. So instead of facing the way his stomach was throwing up all over his intestines, he'd distracted himself with other things.

Like the way one of her hair pins had been slightly crooked and how she'd constantly shoved her long locks behind her ears yet only to have them fall forward when she'd pranced around. The way she'd held her hands together hopefully, and how her smile had faltered, a sight that had annoyed him a great deal to his own chagrin, only to spring back to life moments later, her eyes crinkling at the sides with the sheer force of her… happiness?

Needless to say he'd been trying so hard to distract himself that he'd nearly missed the entire exchange between Grimmjow and the shinigami.

It was all her fault he was so… confused, bombarded with these strange reactions. Who was she, _what_ was she, to cause him such stupefaction?

Sighing shakily, the ex-hollow stumbled over to his bed and leaned against the metal end board. He could barely stand and his lungs were screaming for air he was too exhausted to search for. The room was spinning on its side; causing him to grip the cold metal precariously for fear that his entire body would topple to the floor.

But his stomach wasn't holding on as tightly and as the room stood tipping to one side, it followed suit. It would empty out he feared, and it most certainly would not be a pleasant experience. Closing his eyes wasn't helping and as he gasped for air, the room faded in and out, creeping closer before quickly retreating.

Curse that damn shinigami over and over for causing him such revolting ill-health.

He was going to fall; the room was going to throw him out the window. Maybe he'd be killed, splattered all over the sidewalk, and rid of this sickening helplessness…

"You know, if you'd just stayed downstairs I wouldn't have had to hunt for you," her voice was like chimes and the room suddenly righted itself, though it was cast in a strange orange haze. He gripped the end board more tightly, his fingers quickly regaining enough strength to do so.

He gulped, relishing in the force that caused him relief, but cursing it for doing it so quickly. His reiatsu, would it forever remain at this humiliatingly low level?

He scoffed quietly. Probably.

"You have grown stronger Woman," he stated. "You didn't even have to audibly reject my weakness." Turning slowly, he saw that she was frowning at him from behind the orange wall. Reaching out, he brushed the barrier with his fingertips. Not even so much as a ripple. But it was not like glass either. Metal perhaps? Even if he'd thrown his body against it, it would not have broken, probably not even phased it.

"I don't know about that," she mumbled, "I just… do what I have to." He didn't reply, just glanced around the room in a vain attempt to avoid her gaze. He knew he'd be drawn back to it again. Yet when his eyes fell once again on her form, she was no longer looking at him. "I'm surprised," she continued as she looked around his room. "I didn't think you'd be so… into popular culture."

"Urahara encouraged it," he stated and followed her gaze. His room was set up simply enough. A large rectangle, it had a dark glow to it. The carpet was dark, dark green, the walls black, all of which to his personal preference. The only things that irked him slightly were the curtains hanging from large window to the east side of the room, the ceiling, and the trim. They were all white, a condition set by Harribel because his color scheme was "dark and depressing" and she thought it a little unhealthy.

His bed was set in the middle against the west wall before the window adorned with black sheets, comforter, and pillows. The headboard and end board were black metal, straight bars up and down a few feet from the level of the mattress. Again, something that Harribel thought was depressing though he thought it simple. White was far more depressing in his limited experience in _all_ worlds.

His desk, dresser, end table, and book shelves were made of a dark alder, they'd come in a set, and sat on the far end of his room in a rather orderly fashion. A green trimmed, white fluffed dog bed sat before the filled book shelves beside his black leather rolling chair, though it still had the tag and empty food bowls dumped precariously inside of it.

And on the opposing end, by the door, where the Woman currently stared, was his LCD television, a gift from Starrk. He'd also given him surround sound speakers and a rather expensive looking CD/MP3 playing system. Which he supposed he was thankful for seeing as all he ever used the setup for was playing music.

Opposing that was a black leather loveseat that sat parallel to his bed with, to his irritation, two white pillows.

But what she was staring at was the wall directly before her, set somewhat between the television and the couch.

"He said that because Hueco Mundo was so barren of all life and entertainment, we had to make it a mission to indulge in some form of hobby or other activity. That way we could perhaps learn to appreciate being human for all the indulgences it possesses that the spirit worlds do not." It was referred to Grimmjow as his "music wall." It had various posters, magazine scans, and photographs of the musical artists he found interesting plastered across it, leaving little space for more to be added. The blue haired nuisance that lived next door had added to it occasionally, stating that his walls were "too covered with more important things" and that he was "only contributing to Ulquiorra's 'happiness.'" Truly the fourth Espada didn't know why Grimmjow bestowed him with such gifts, but he supposed it was appreciated to a certain extent.

"Really?" she was walking towards the littered wall, leaving him to stare after her from his orange prison. "I like some of these bands, and some I haven't even heard of. Hmmm… so what 'human indulgences' so you _indulge_ in?" She had turned on her heel to face him again, a curious look on her face.

"Literature mostly," why was he even talking to her? "The written word is interesting to a certain extent. That people can express thoughts with mere black and white print is something worth analyzing." She was waiting for more and he sighed. "I dabble in piano as well, though nothing I compose is ever more than trash."

"Really?" She had linked her fingers together in front of her face and was leaning back on her heels precariously. "I can't play any instruments, I mean I played flute for a little while back in elementary school, but I'm really no good at it. I'd like to hear you play sometime though, piano that is." He didn't reply to this and she took a deep breath. "So… what does everyone else do as a 'hobby?'"

Why couldn't she be quiet?

"Grimmjow has taken up guitar, he's quite good actually, and… video games." The woman giggled. "Harribel is quite an accomplished flower arranger, she owns a shop just inside town, and apparently she's taken up cooking recently." He sighed, all this discussion was wearing on his vocal chords, he wasn't used to speaking so much. "Starrk is a rather well-known fashion photographer though his real passion lies in landscapes. He says that they are so much more colorful than the endless sands of Hueco Mundo; he wants us all to go with him sometime. Lilynette is getting into sports and more abstract photography, her interest stemming from Starrk's success. And Nel enjoys traditional art, painting, etc, though her pieces are… not always anything to be impressed by currently." She giggled again. "What, may I ask, is so amusing?"

She smiled at him, "It's just… nice I guess, to see you guys settling in so well. I'm glad. And I'm sure Ichigo will calm down a bit when he learns Nel is here too…"

Though no outsider could tell, he was staring at her curiously. "You sound as if you were worried."

She sighed and her smile dropped away. He frowned more deeply.

"I was," she had wandered over to his window and was staring out into the orange glow of the setting sun. "I mean, when Ichigo said that some of you were here, I guess I was afraid you wouldn't find your way, but I see now that you all seem to have done so." He was slightly taken aback.

"Why would you bother worrying about us?" the orange barrier around him shattered silently and disappeared into dust, apparently sensing that his reiatsu was fully restored. "We were nothing but cruel to you, yet you find the time to fill some thoughts with worry over us? Why?" She turned slightly, her long hair falling from her shoulders to fill her back, a soft smile gracing her lips.

"You're always so curious as to why I feel a certain way," she turned fully to face him, her hands clasped in front of her. "And no answer I ever give you is good enough." She shrugged. "I don't know why I worried, but I did." Her head cocked to the side. "Why does it matter to you so much what my motives were?"

"Because they make no sense," he replied coldly. "We were your enemies, so why waste your thoughts on us?" He took a step forward and placed his finger on the crook of her elbow, drawing it downward to her wrist. She shivered at his touch, but did not retreat. "You wear your emotions on your sleeve, yet their obviousness makes them no easier to decipher." He pointed to her chest, his pale finger touching just above her shirt collar, his sagging wet sleeve from his swim earlier that day flapping against her breasts. "Are the answers in your heart? Is that why neither you nor I can see them or understand them?"

"First off," she began and reached up to grab his wrist with her own warm grasp, "you're thinking about this all too literally. My heart, were you too 'crack open my chest,' would reveal nothing. It's an organ. Its location in my body is not the same as where my emotional heart is," she lowered his hand, his pulse point held between her thumb and forefinger. His heart was quickening even as she held him, "though sometimes it does betray us." For a reason that was obviously confusing to him by the way his eyebrows came together, a slight pinkness crept onto his cheeks. "Second, you are looking in all the wrong places besides. My heart is not in my skull either," she laughed lightly and he blushed more profusely. "My thoughts are there, yes, but emotions and thoughts are two very different things. My thoughts, as you said, do not always understand my emotions."

"Where then does one look to see emotions?" he whispered, apparently befuddled.

"I'll tell you a secret," she whispered, her smile widening dangerously. She took a step forward, the space between them diminishing as his pulse skyrocketed. He didn't understand this… "There's an old expression that says 'the eyes are the doorways to ones soul.'" She placed the first finger of her free hand below her eye. "Now, this expression should be rephrased to 'the doorways to ones heart' for that's what it really means." Her touch transferred from her cheek to his, warmth once again coming to grace his alabaster complexion. "If you want to know what one is really feeling, look into their eyes. If you can learn how to decipher them, you'll understand more so than if you let your head do the talking."

"That makes no sense Woman," he replied sharply and she giggled.

"Does anything about the heart make sense? Why did I worry about all of you? Because my heart told me too."

"That is hardly a reason."

"Reason enough though," she replied.

"And your eyes… they would betray this? They would somehow show that you were worried?"

"Well," she took a step back, removing both her hands from his person. Why was he suddenly feeling very disappointed? "Not mine," she assured with a wink. "I've become a pro at hiding my emotions when I want to." He glared at her. "Don't worry though, I usually try not to. Nobody likes being looked at with a blank stare all the time," she had raised her eyebrows pointedly at him.

"My apologies," he replied.

"No need to apologize," she replied quickly. "You were only like that at first. Even in Hueco Mundo you started showing confusion, which was better than nothing. And now, whether you're aware of it or not, you're eyes are flashing with all kinds of stuff." He appeared taken aback by this accusation and glanced at the carpet. "I can dissect everything you're feeling," she explained and laughed, "even if _you_ can't." He was glaring at her again and she placed her finger on her lower lip teasingly. "I see confusion, but you're almost always confused," he took obvious offense to that one, "and irritation," well that one he knew at least, "and curiosity. That one you developed shortly after confusion and it too is almost always there." He sighed. "And I see exasperation," yes, he was tired of her mind games, "and… nervousness." He glared at her. "And embarrassment, and fear," Harder glaring. "Hmmm," she tapped her finger on her chin. "There's some… well… maybe it's better if I keep that to myself…"

"What?" his reply was quick and abrupt. He didn't like this game.

"Nothing!" she chirped and clasped her hands behind her back. "It's for _me_ to know and _you_ to find out," she explained in a sing-song voice. His lips tightened, but he decided to let it go. He'd figure it out for himself eventually.

"Can you read everyone this… easily?" he was very annoyed now.

"Mmm, no. Rukia is pretty hard, and Uryu. Chad, Ichigo, and Renji are real easy though. Tatsuki was hard at first, but I know her so well I don't even need her eyes anymore," she laughed. "Eh, Grimmjow is real easy too; he's a lot like Ichigo actually. But," this would really irk him, "_you're_ the easiest."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked sharply and she shrugged.

"It's not supposed to mean anything," her answer was innocent. "I wear my emotions on my sleeve, I express them easily, but you bury yours in your eyes because you don't wear them anywhere else. Maybe it's because your eyes are so big," she argued, "or because they're so green, I don't really know."

He took a deep breath and contemplated her words. "You seem to think you know a lot about me," he stated quietly and she cocked her head to the side. "Maybe you do," he was unsure. "You were never afraid of me, even when I posed a threat against you. So why…" his green eyes met her silver ones once again. They glistened inside her silhouette outlined before the window, the bright orange and red rays of the descending sun making her hair like fire.

He took a few steps closer to her, leaving only inches between them. Reaching up, he curled a strand of her hair between his fingers, his nails brushing against her cheek as the orange threads entwined between his digits. She gasped, staring up at him, her mouth agape. "Why am _I_… so afraid of _you_…?"

She gulped as his thumb traced the skin just below her eye before breaching the corner of her lips. "I- I'm afraid of you now," she stuttered and he froze, his exploration of her face halting as his gaze pierced into her eyes, yet he came back with nothing.

Dropping his hand to his side, his eyes narrowed at her in irritation.

"That makes no sense," he stated simply. "Why should you fear me now when you are a far greater threat than myself? I would hardly stand a chance against your meager offensive powers, yet you say that now you fear me." His lips tightened into a straight line. "And you say I am confused? You are the one that baffles me with your backwards ways of thinking. Explain yourself."

"I…" she bit her bottom lip. "I am not afraid of _you_," he glared at her, apparently not liking how this was beginning. "I am afraid of-"

"Excuse me you two, I don't mean to interrupt," turning, they both laid eyes on Harribel as she came through the door, "but there is a friend of your downstairs," she nodded to Orihime, "that seems rather worried about you."

"Oh, okay," the orange haired girl replied a little too quickly. "I'll come down right now!" She frolicked to the older woman's side and smiled brightly, obviously ignoring Ulquiorra's intent gaze burning her backside. "It's probably Tatsuki," she explained as the two woman left the room, the door blowing closed behind them as a breeze drifted through the open window.

Ulquiorra stood motionless, his eyes lingering on the doorway where she had been standing only moments before, his green eyes narrowed in thought.

**oOo**

"What's wrong Karin?" Yuzu sat at the kitchen table with a pen and a piece of paper. What exactly she was doing her sister didn't know, and in all honesty didn't care to know. Everything she was interested in was apparently out of her minds grasp seeing as no one would explain anything to her.

"Something happened between Ichigo and those new neighbors," she huffed as she sat down across from her sister. The other girl cocked her head curiously. "For some reason Grimmjow hates his guts and Lilynette is terrified of him. Ulquiorra and Harribel don't like him either. And to top it off, they know he's a shinigami." Yuzu's mouth dropped open at that last bit.

"What do you mean they know?" she gasped. "How could they possibly know? They're so… normal." Karin shrugged irritably and glared at the table. She was really worried about the friendship that had sprung up between her and Lilynette. She didn't have a lot of female friends she could relate to, and the greenish-blonde girl was a first. Had it all been destroyed because of something Ichigo had done? Why did it seem that Ichigo was always caught in the middle of everything?

"Why are my two lovely daughters looking so down?" They both jumped, surprised to suddenly see their father sitting at the table with them, a loud, orange shirt gracing his form.

That was when Karin realized who she could get her answers from. Their father never refused them anything, and he was a shinigami too so he must know _something_.

"Why do the new neighbors hate Ichigo?" she asked bluntly. "And how do they know he's a shinigami?" His playful eyes hardened and he stared at his dark haired daughter seriously before leaning back in the chair with a sigh.

"Let's put it this way," he began, "a year ago, during the war, that family wasn't exactly on our side." Both girls raised their eyebrows in astonishment and stared at their father hungrily, begging him to elaborate. "Ichigo basically destroyed everything they had, so a few of them hold a grudge, to put it simply."

"But… they don't seem like they have any special powers or anything…?" Yuzu frowned unhappily.

"They don't anymore," their father clarified. "But at one time they did. In fact they were some of the most dangerous enemies Soul Society ever faced. But they had to give up their power to live here." Karin was about to ask another question, but was cut off as her father continued. "You see, they could either go back to where they came from or become humans and live here. That family chose to come here while the other half of their companions chose to go back to their old home."

"If they're so dangerous then why do you let us get to know them?" Yuzu asked as Karin sat thoughtfully in her chair.

"Because I don't think they mean you any harm," he answered truthfully. "Even now that they know you're related to Ichigo, I don't think they'll harm you. All they want to do now is live normal lives, and I don't see why we should impede on that simple happiness."

"They were hollows weren't they?" Karin asked suddenly and earned a gasp and wide eyes from Yuzu. "That's why they don't like Ichigo and shinigami. Hollow's and shinigami are enemies, so it makes sense."

Isshin sighed, "Yes, they were hollow's. You're far too quick witted sometimes Karin, something you inherited from your mother." Yuzu looked clearly offended when he didn't include her as well. "Be careful where you mention that small fact, both of you. There are many that would search to destroy what little life they have found after the war."

"They're living in secret?" Yuzu questioned.

"Yes, to a certain extent," the older man affirmed. "Urahara told only those that were necessary of their existence." The room fell silent as both girls sat back in their seats, contemplating their father's words. But, as it was a Kurosaki trait, neither wasted much time idol.

"I'm going to go over there and see if I can talk to Lilynette," Karin jumped to her feet and straightened her baseball cap.

"I'm coming too!" Yuzu exclaimed as her sister ran out the door.

Isshin smiled softly as the door slammed behind his two twin daughters.

**oOo**

"Glad you cleaned that thing, it totally fuckin' stank," Grimmjow commented as Ulquiorra placed the whining puppy on the carpet in the living room. The fourth Espada was clearly irritated from the romp in the bathtub; he was soaking wet _again_, and was in no mood for Grimmjow's attitude.

"Please Grimmjow, your language is not appreciated," Harribel scolded and gave him a knowing glare from her place in the kitchen. The blue haired teenager stared over the back of the couch at her, neither abiding by her warning nor deciding to act outside it either.

"So what're you gonna name that thing anyway?" Grimmjow inquired as the puppy raced around the room. It caught sight of the cat perched on the coffee table and thoughtlessly shoved its nose in the testy kittens face. It puffed, hissed, and batted at the dog who reared back in surprise and dashed back over to Ulquiorra before shaking all the water from its coat. The fourth Espada grimaced. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It is female," the fourth finally replied as he shoved his wrinkled hands into his damp pockets. "And I will not be taking name suggestions from you." Grimmjow frowned and sank down in his seat. He'd had a few choice recommendations, all of which Harribel would have slapped him for.

Perking its ears, the rambunctious beast glanced up at Ulquiorra before bounding once again across the room. It wagged its tail excitedly at Harribel for about half a second as it raced towards the door. Yelping, its clawed feet rapped at the entrance just as a knock was heard. Ulquiorra took advantage of the animal's distraction and turned to go to his room, fully intent on changing into a dry set of clothes.

Wiping her hands clear of flower, Harribel furrowed her eyebrows and glided towards the door. Could they really have more visitors that day? She was already drawn and tired, who else could possibly be in want of their attention. Sighing, she opened the door.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Karin… Yuzu… what are you two… doing here?" The twins that lived down the street. The ones that had welcomed them wholeheartedly… the little sisters of Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Um, hello Ms. Harribel," the darker of the two replied quietly. She was obviously uneasy as her eyes dashed from the porch to the woman and back again. "We, uh, we just wanted to drop by because…" She sighed, suddenly seeming resolute, her eyes hardening. "Can I talk to Lilynette please? I know you guys don't like us but-"

"I never said I didn't like you," Harribel clarified with a smile. "And Lilynette is in the backyard with the dog. I'm sure she'd love to talk to you." Karin seemed very confused for a few moments; this was not the welcoming she had expected.

"But… earlier today…?" She had furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Yes, well," the blonde woman sighed. "That was a misunderstanding I think. Lilynette was just… well she was unsure and her emotions got the best of her. I've talked to her and I'm sure she'd be more than happy to see you Karin."

"She doesn't… hate me?"

"No!" Harribel exclaimed, "of course not. No one hates you, either of you." She could tell by the looks on their faces that they were comprehending the information. "And no one hates your brother either," she added. This reassurance seemed to relieve them both and with a smile Karin dashed off the porch and around the house to the backyard.

Yuzu was still uneasy though as she glanced up at her new friend.

"But… my dad said that you guys and Ichi… fought during the war, that my brother did… bad stuff to you guys… How can you say that none of you hate him?" Harribel smiled softly and placed her tanned hand on the little girls head.

"We've all done things that we regret," she replied softly. "Your brother did what he felt he had to, and so did we." Just how much did these two know about what happened? "But the war is over and forgiveness is much easier than revenge. I don't adore your brother, and I certainly wouldn't say he'd be welcome here," this truth caused Yuzu to frown, "but none of us hate him. And perhaps, in due time, that will change." Bending down, the woman set herself at eyelevel with the younger girl. "You need to understand though," she was very serious, "that wounds take a long time to heal, especially ones to someone's pride. No one is right or wrong for what happened, but it cannot be denied that it happened, so it will take time." Yuzu nodded, the edges of her eyes damp with unshed tears as she stared up at Harribel.

"Did… did _you_ fight with Ichigo?"

The older woman smiled again. "No, I did not," her eyes flashed mischievously, "but if you ever want to get back at Grimmjow for being an idiot, or Ulquiorra for ignoring you, feel free to bring up how they got their butts kicked by him." The little girl giggled. "Also, stay for dinner if you want," the third added as she stood. "I'm making it myself this time."

"Okay!" the twin exclaimed as she skipped into the house after her new friend. "I'm sure it will be great!" Harribel seemed to appreciate her assurance as they made their way to the kitchen. Yuzu surveyed the area, decided that the older woman did not in fact need her assistance, and made her way into the living room. Grimmjow was sprawled across the couch lazily. Standing over him, the blonde poked him in the cheek to wake him up. He grumbled something in his sleep and scowled. His response caused the younger girl to reconsider disturbing him again. He was… kind of scary.

But she had a lot of questions! She didn't want to interrupt Harribel either…

Glancing around the room, she spotted Ulquiorra sitting across the room, a book in his hands, his wet hair sticking to his pale face. He sported a pair of black pajama pants and a gray t-shirt. He didn't look very happy either, but Yuzu decided he looked safer than Grimmjow.

Bounding over to the loveseat he occupied, she climbed up onto the other side and cleared her throat. His forest green eyes flickered over to her momentarily before once again focusing on the book.

"So…" the blonde girl sighed. "I was wondering," her voice seemed so loud against Grimmjow's soft snoring. "What was it like, that is, being a hollow?" He glanced at her again before his gaze darted to the ceiling. Perhaps this was a positive response? "I mean, every other time I've been around hollows they tried to kill me. And you don't look like a hollow either, though I guess I've only been able to see them recently, but I think the other ones before were pretty big, and you're not that big. Did you change when you became a human? Why did you decide to become a human? Cuz my dad said that some of your friends stayed back where you came from, so why didn't you? Do you miss them? I hope you didn't decide to come here to fight my brother, like revenge, cuz that would be really sad. I think it would be really cool if we could all get along. I don't think Ichigo wants to fight with you so maybe if you're nice and he's nice we can stop being mad? Cuz Karin said that today at the park Ichigo and Grimmjow were _really_ angry and Orihime said something about them shouting at each other when she was over with Tatsuki, and I think that's kind of funny cuz Grimmjow always kind of reminded me of Ichigo so you'd think they'd get along. Do they hate each other because Ichigo beat him during the war? Harribel said that he got his butt kicked, actually she said both of you did, but I'm sure you put up a pretty good fight and everything, but my brother's _really_ strong so I doubt anyone-"

"Girl," he slammed his book shut testily and stared down at her, "stop talking." She snapped her mouth shut and frowned, her bottom lip quivering at his sudden sharpness. She wasn't used to being talked to so coldly and his tone made it seem like he didn't like her at all.

"You don't like me do you?" she whispered and stared down at the couch sadly. "I understand, I mean, with my brother and everything, so I guess it makes sense." She heard him sigh.

"I do not dislike you," he corrected before she could break down crying. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with after what seemed like a horrible day. Making Kurosaki's little sister cry would be the cherry on top of the cake. "But you were asking too many questions."

"Oh," she placed her finger on her lip thoughtfully and ran through all her questions, trying to find one she really wanted answered. The top of her list was still priority. "So, could you tell me what being a hollow was like?" He still looked very unhappy.

"It was… very dull," he replied shortly and reopened his book, silent once again. The younger girl furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. That was not the answer she wanted. There had to be more to it than that.

"Jeez Ulquiorra, the least you could do is give her a real answer," glancing over, Yuzu saw that Grimmjow was awake and staring at them from his position on the other couch. "She wanted to know what it's like being a hollow, so give her some of the gory details." The little girl paled.

"Then you do it," Ulquiorra commanded without looking up. Grimmjow scoffed.

"Please, you know that if I did it she'd be scarred for life," he replied and stretched lazily. "You have a good way of explaining things as if you're reading them out of a book. I'm too graphic." He was smiling and Yuzu had the sudden feeling that he _wanted_ to scare her to death. He was waiting expectantly for Ulquiorra to once again say no.

The green eyed man didn't say anything at all though.

"Well if you really want me to tell her about how hollows are practically cannibals and-"

"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra sounded irritated now. "She is a child, have some decency."

"C-cannibals?" Yuzu squeaked.

"Oh alright," Grimmjow sighed irritably. "I just thought it'd be funny if she went crying back to Ichigo with scary hollow stories, but I guess you're right." The little girl frowned again.

"I would not go crying back to him," she defended resolutely and was greeted with silence. Crossing her arms, she sat back in the couch and stared at the coffee table, scrolling through her list of questions once again. "Who is the strongest hollow?"

"Well…" Grimmjow glanced at Ulquiorra. "I'd have to say it was me, but-"

"I _was_ the strongest," Ulquiorra cut in, still without glancing up from his book. The blue haired teenager scowled and looked about to argue, but was interrupted again. "Don't say otherwise Grimmjow, I'm the only Espada to reach a second evolution, thus you were a complete level below me." The sixth bristled angrily.

"_You_ were the strongest?" Yuzu seemed skeptical. "And my brother still beat you?" The green eyed man was clearly annoyed by this fact. "Wow, Ichigo must be really strong huh?"

"Only because he used our own power against us," Grimmjow spat irritably and Yuzu sent him a questioning look. "He's a freakin' human-hollow hybrid." The younger girl was still confused and Grimmjow sighed as he sat up. "You don't know kid?" Ulquiorra was giving the blue haired man a disapproving look again, but he didn't seem to notice. "You're brother isn't just a regular old run-of-the-mill shinigami. He's a hollow too." The sixth shrugged in feigned indifference, "So I guess that'd make _him_ the strongest hollow."

"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra hissed when a completely horrified look crossed Yuzu's face. Finally, the dimwitted male seemed to catch on.

"Not that you're brother, ya know, eats people's souls or anything," he tried to mend the situation and was failing. "I mean, he's part human too so he eats normal food, so he doesn't have to eat souls or other hollow," Yuzu's mouth fell open, "not that all hollow eat other hollows, I mean they do, but we don't anymore and your bother doesn't, at least I don't think so," Ulquiorra sighed. "Not that we ate each other, I mean we kind of, well yeah, okay, we did, but it's all about how hollow life works. It's not like I ever tried to gnaw off Ulquiorra's arm or something," he laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head as Yuzu's expression continued to deteriorate. "Besides, when we became Espada we didn't have to do that anymore, so it's not like any of us ate hollow recently or… anything."

"Shut up Grimmjow," Ulquiorra spoke up and drew the Kurosaki twin's attention. "Listen girl, hollows are monsters." Grimmjow appeared taken aback and was even gaping, though there was confusion spiraling through his eyes. "Your brother isn't a real hollow, he doesn't have to live like one, he just has access to hollow power. We left that life because we didn't want to be monsters," what a pretty lie, "so now we're human. That's it." She nodded in understanding, her confidence in them slowly returning.

"Yeah, that's right," Grimmjow added quietly. "So just… forget we were hollows, cuz we're not anymore and… we never will be again." He tried to hide the bitterness in his voice and thankfully Ulquiorra was the only one that picked up on it.

"Well… okay I guess," she decided thoughtfully and was silent for a few moments before glancing back up Ulquiorra. "So… how badly did my brother beat you guys up?" The green eyed man stared across the room, his lips forming into a perfect frown. Luckily, before he was forced to answer, that annoying animal bounded back into the living room and raced over to Ichigo's little sister, wagging its tail and acting unnecessarily excited.

"A puppy!" she exclaimed happily, a smile finally returning to her face. "Oh my gosh she's so cute!" Both Ulquiorra and Grimmjow glanced at each other, the former giving no real expression while the latter seemed incredulous.

"How did you know it was girl?" the blue haired teen blurted and Yuzu looked offended as she scratched behind the beasts ears.

"How can you ask such a thing," she replied, sounding hurt. "You can tell just by looking at her face. I can tell you're a boy can't I? So why should dogs be any different?" Grimmjow didn't enjoy being compared to an animal, but both still remained impressed by her intuitiveness. "What's her name?" The sixth laughed and stared at Ulquiorra who could only shrug. "She doesn't have a name? That's terrible!" Yuzu frowned and patted the puppies head affectionately. "Poor little princess, no one gave you a name."

"That's it," Grimmjow chortled, a vindictive smile gracing his features.

"No it's not," Ulquiorra cut in quickly.

"That's her name," the blue haired man ignored the creature's owner's objection. "Her name… is _Princess_." Yuzu gasped and nodded excitedly though Grimmjow's eyes never left his brothers. "Isn't that just the _sweetest_ name you've ever heard? Ulquiorra's little Princess."

"He's so right," Yuzu stated in a baby voice, coddling the dog who only wagged its tail more fiercely. "Princess is the best name for someone as sweet as you!"

Ulquiorra seethed on the couch, considering the many different ways in which he could do away with Grimmjow.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Sorry that it took longer to update than usual, I was working between eight and ten hour days last week painting all of Western Michigan University's fire hydrants (got 91 done in four days, which is quite a feat) and was too exhausted to, well, care, lol. Actually I got sunburned so bad that my skin boiled and got all blistery and infected, now it's all oozy and seepy. Yeah, imagine that, **ha**!

So I was really surprised in all the reviews I got that so many of you were mad at Ichigo. I personally feel both Ichigo and Grimmjow were idiots, but I find it funny how many of you feel that Ichigo was being an ass, lolol.

There was a little Ulquihime there for you, and there will be more now. I just had to get all the intro stuff out of the way, this story is finally winding up (took forever I know). And I know Orihime is a little ooc, but it's _so hard_ to write clueless ditzy characters. I honestly feel that a lot of what Orihime is around her friends is a front and that she probably would act a little different around Ulquiorra, or maybe I'm just hoping for too much, sigh. It's not my fault I like strong, independent, _intelligent_ female characters.

We start High School next chapter, everybody go "ooooohhhh" cuz _everybody_ loves a high school fic, **bleh**! Trust me, high school will make an appearance, but it won't be huge. I actually just want to describe Grimmjow and Ulquiorra in school uniforms, yay!

Also, I apologize in advance if the next update is in the more distant future. I'm in the middle of moving my life to University of Michigan, so I'm kind of a little busy. Yes, first year of college! Wish me luck!

Love you all bunches and bunches of oats!

Toodles!

Oh, also, if none of you caught that, Orihime's name means Princess so that's why Grimmjow was picking on Ulquiorra.


	6. For the Love of Rice Balls

**The Definition of Love**

_"Caught in your spell_  
_ Do you think you're **unstopable**_  
_ Caught in your spell_  
_ Don't you **know who I am**_  
_ Caught in your spell_  
_ Do you think you're **unbreakable**_  
_ Caught in your spell_  
_ Don't you **know who I am**_

_ My **pride**, **pride**, **pride** in **retreat**_  
_ I **fall down** in defeat_  
_ **Hopeless, restless**_  
_ I keep **fighting**_  
_ Cuz your **small world's**_  
_ not enough_  
_ You're still weak of that my love_  
_ One day, you'll say that **I am stronger than you you"**_

_**Unbreakable - Jade Valerie  
**_

**Chapter 6: For the Love of Rice Balls**

Orihime couldn't contain herself. She was _so_ excited. Beyond excited. She was ecstatic!

The problem? She wasn't quite sure why.

Glancing around the room, she smiled to herself. She was _usually_ excited on this day, but never **this** excited. Yes, the first day of school after summer break was a day she always looked forward to, yet there was a spark in the air this time around, a lightness to everything. The way people were laughing and talking, friends getting together after having not seen each other in weeks; it was all so… liberating.

"Would you sit still, jeez," Tatsuki laughed as Orihime bounced up and down in her seat.

"I can't help it!" she whined. "I'm just so happy to be back in school." Sighing, the redhead smiled even wider, earning yet another laugh from her best friend. Unfortunately though, as she continued to glance around the room, she noticed that not everyone was as happy as she. It was nearly time for class to start so most of the students were filing to their seats, talking jovially.

But one orange haired teenager in particular looked rather glum.

"Don't worry about him," Tatsuki assured as she sat down on Orihime's right. "He's just being overly dramatic. See? Rukia knows it too." The shorthaired shinigami had just punched her housemate fiercely on the shoulder. He in return started heatedly whispering to her. Orihime giggled and the shorter woman turned in her seat to smile at her.

"Where are Keigo and Mizuiro?" Tatsuki thought allowed as she glanced at the two empty seats situated in the back corner of the room by Orihime.

Ever since the war had ended, those involved had pretty much created their own clique in the classroom. Keigo, Mizuiro, Orihime, and Tatsuki sat in the back row. Ichigo sat on the far left edge by the window of the next row, Rukia next to him, and Uryu next to her and directly in front of Orihime. Renji sat in front of Ichigo and Chad next to him. Chizuru sat next to Chad, but they all tried to ignore her most of the time.

Thus they had taken over that third of the room.

"Probably late like they are every year for the first day," Uryu muttered in reply to Orihime's question. He sat passively in front of her sewing something, probably a stuffed animal for another classmate. As soon as school started he was usually busy for the first week as everyone was bringing him their ripped items from that summer.

"They'll get off," Ichigo assured and frowned for no apparent reason. "They haven't gotten in trouble before now. You know our homeroom teacher adores Mizuiro." That was true, but almost everyone adored the short, black haired ladies man.

"Alright class!" They all jumped and turned to stare at the front of the room where their brown haired instructor stood smiling. "Good to see you're all well and good after your summer break. Well, except Keigo and Mizuiro. That poor Mizuiro, I don't know why he's such good friends with that delinquent."

Silence.

"Well anyway, down to business then," a good majority of the class groaned. "Oh please, don't sound so excited," she added. "Besides, I have a very important announcement to make." Ichigo sank down in his chair, he knew it. This was how things had begun with Shinji too. Damn Urahara, he probably set this up on purpose. "We have two new students who will be joining us this year… and hopefully they won't just up and disappear like that last one." Why did she always make such a big deal out of these things? Why couldn't she just let them come in and sit down like everyone else? Maybe then Ichigo could avoid glaring at them. "So let's all be nice and help them get adjusted." She waved to the door and it quietly opened.

Ichigo had thought he'd end up glaring at them, but instead he just did his best in holding back laughter, something that Orihime and Rukia failed to do when the two miserable students walked through the door.

Grimmjow was scowling, his hair in disarray as though he'd just woken up. He wore the short sleeved button-up shirt precariously untucked with the first two buttons undone, no undershirt. His pants were belted and baggy, sagging slightly, and bunched at the bottom atop a pair of brown combat boots. He looked a mess, a severally unhappy one.

Ulquiorra was quite the opposite, which was what made the scene so hilarious. He was composed albeit rather unhappy as well. He wore the long sleeved button up shirt, tan vest, and a green tie. His pants were well fitted and flat, no bunches or wrinkles. The only thing out of place were his completely black converse shoes.

"Everyone, this is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," their teacher stumbled over the name and the blue haired teen sighed, "and…" again she stumbled, "Ulquiorra Cifer." The class stared at them blankly and the sixth fidgeted uncomfortably. "So tell us," their teacher exclaimed exuberantly, "where are you two from? It said on my report that you two are half-brothers so am I correct in assuming that you've lived together for a while?"

Grimmjow sighed again and slowly turned his head to Ulquiorra. The green eyed man met his gaze, irritation planted there for those who knew where to look. With another sigh, the blue haired teen swiveled his head back to their teacher. "We're from Spain," he said simply and monotonously.

"Well that's rather interesting," their teacher added and the room fell silent as their classmates stared at their new, rather fascinating looking, classmates. "Well it's good to meet you," the woman at the head of the room continued awkwardly. "Take a seat and we'll get started."

The two glanced around momentarily. There were five empty seats. Two in the back and the other three interspersed throughout the student body. Ulquiorra really had no desire to affiliate himself with such trash, but supposed it was inevitable. Just as he was about to seat himself in a chair in the front row, a familiar voice caught his attention. Glancing back, he saw a familiar orange head and gray eyes staring at him.

Giggling at him.

He considered his choices as his fingertips brushed the desk at the front of the room. Either he sat amongst strangers and trash, or next to her, which was at least tolerable. The choice was obvious and he quickly redirected his movements. Grimmjow hissed his name behind him, but he ignored it. Without even glancing at who he knew was sitting around the Woman, he graced his way down the row and slid into the seat next to her. She stared at him, surprised, but he ignored her in favor of staring at Grimmjow who still stood at the front of the room, glaring at him.

The blue haired man sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time. He hated this. He hated all the staring and the judging, it was so annoying. And that damn green eyed freak had to go and sit right in the middle of the enemy, leaving him all alone to fend for himself. It was fuckin' irritating.

He could feel the shinigami staring at him, and he considered seating himself in the chair Ulquiorra had forsaken, but there was this pink haired girl with glasses behind that area and she looked… kind of weird.

The other two desks were smack dab in the middle between two prissy looking cliques. He most definitely didn't want to deal with that.

So behind Kurosaki it was…

Grumbling to himself and glaring at Ulquiorra, the sixth Espada dragged his annoying human body to the seat directly behind Ichigo in the corner of the room. The fourth didn't even acknowledge him as he sat down so he continued seething alone, a blue ghost haunting his rival.

Glancing back once out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo could see Grimmjow glaring at the back of his head. He kind of wanted to say something, but knew that the outcome would result in them both getting thrown out of class, which wasn't a good way to start the year. Still, why had they chosen to sit right behind their former opponents? They didn't even like each other. It didn't make any sense.

Glaring down at his desk, the orange haired shinigami attempted to _not_ snap his pencil in half.

**oOo**

"Man I thought we'd never get out of there," Ichigo complained as he sank down against the fence surrounding the roof. "I couldn't concentrate with him sitting behind me. I felt like I was constantly being watched." Rukia rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You're an idiot," she stated and he glared at her.

"I'm curious as to why they sat with us to begin with," Uryu started. "I mean, I was under the impression that they didn't even like us." The others nodded as they slowly began to unpack their lunches. Keigo went around to each of them asking for food and ignoring their conversation. He and Mizuiro had shown up about thirty seconds _after_ the Espada had sat down.

"Well…" Orihime began without looking at them. "If you think about it, it kind of makes sense," she started thoughtfully and they all quieted to listen. "I mean they've never done this before and, granted, we used to be enemies, but we're still familiar to them. Of everyone there, we're still probably who they'd be most comfortable with."

"That… actually makes sense," Renji snorted as he tossed some chips into his mouth. Orihime smiled and pulled some strange concoction out of her lunch bag that made half the group want to vomit, the other half want to run away.

Orihime," Uryu sounded very concerned, "why don't you ever eat _normal_ food?" The orange haired woman frowned, apparently offended as she stared down at her meal.

"What wrong with my food?" she asked.

"Uh…" Uryu scratched the back of his head.

"Here we go," Ichigo mumbled and leaned his head against the fence to try and ignore whatever it was that Orihime was going to describe. He really didn't have the stomach currently to handle whatever it was she had created that morning.

"Tch," flicking his eyes open suddenly at the whispered noise of discontent, the shinigami glanced athwart the roof and scowled when he saw two lone figures walking across the opposing side. He could hear the blue haired one whispering to his companion. "Why do you always end up getting us into situations with them," he hissed. "First the park, then our seats, and now this."

"You don't have to follow me everywhere I go," the fourth replied. Eventually the others noticed their emergence as well, but the two didn't seem to be focused on their group any longer or the stares they were receiving. Instead, they were bickering amongst themselves.

"Did you bring food?" Grimmjow asked as Ulquiorra made himself comfortable. He sat with a book in his hand, pretty much ignoring his companion. "I hope you did because I'm _starving_."

"Yes, I have food," he finally replied, "though what good it will do _you_ I cannot fathom." The green eyed teenager never took his eyes off his book as he reached into the pack beside his knee and pulled out a paper bag.

"Whaddaya-mean?" Grimmjow questioned as he reached for the paper bag. Ulquiorra moved it to his other side; successfully avoiding the larger mans greedy hands.

"It's _my_ lunch, not yours," Ulquiorra made clear as he turned a page in his book. Grimmjow glared down at his brother angrily.

"Didn't you ever hear of sharing?" he asked nicely, but received no response. Suddenly and rather suspiciously, his glare vanished and he walked away, leaving Ulquiorra in peace. But as the group watched it wasn't long before he strolled back, this time keeping well behind his companion. He blue eyes were still on the paper bag placed carelessly to the fourths right.

His shrewd gaze soon turned into actions and as stealthily as his human body allowed, he crept up behind what he hoped was an oblivious Ulquiorra. If he could just get the bag and run to the nearest tree… Ulquiorra was a terrible climber.

Suddenly and without warning, with the speed of a fat old housecat, or so Grimmjow felt, he launched himself at the bag, grabbing it up nimbly between his fingers and attempting to run.

But he was too slow.

"Ow!" he yelled and dropped the bag exactly where it had been a second before. "Ow, ow, ow, ow! God damn Ulquiorra, let the fuck go!" He yelled and rolled away as the fourth released the skin he'd pinched tightly between his alabaster fingers. Grimmjow rubbed the back of his hand and stood, his glare fixed on his brother. "That fuckin' hurt you asshole!" He exclaimed and stomped his way back over. Ulquiorra sighed as he moved his lunch bag to his other side before reaching into his backpack and pulling out another paper bag.

Holding it up to Grimmjow, he never once took his eyes from his novel.

Glare vanishing to be replaced by a grateful smirk, Grimmjow snatched the bag from those pasty white hands.

"Well why didn't ya say so to begin with?" he went on happily as he opened the bag. "Could have avoided-" His smile dumped into a frown as he stared into the bag, his eyes becoming bright with fury. "Is this supposed to be funny?" his voice was lethal and he finally managed to grab his housemate's attention. With raised eyebrows, Ulquiorra glanced up at him. "You're a dick, you know that!" the sixth shouted venomously. "This is fuckin' cat food!" Throwing the bag down, the group across the roof had to hold back laughter as it burst, small pieces of dry kitten chow bouncing across the lot.

"Oh," Ulquiorra glanced up at his companion, eyes blank and void of emotion as usual. "Woops."

"I am going to kick your little white **ass**!" the blue haired teenager roared and bent down as if to strangle his counterpart. With speed not normally bestowed upon humans, the dark haired Espada rolled out of range, his book, bag, and lunch left on the ground. Grimmjow was not, of course, going to allow it to end there. With anger induced adrenaline, he launched himself after the fourth, arm swinging towards his mop of black hair.

Seeing the offensive move coming, Ulquiorra quickly stepped to the side, his brothers claws just barely missing the black hair mounted on his head. Subjected to force, the sixth was propelled forward and past his target, arm swinging as he made a desperate attempt to right himself before smashing face first into the roof.

Luckily with a quick turn of his heel, Grimmjow was able to throw his body back into balance while at the same time coming around for a second shot. Fingers outstretched, the sixth made yet another attempt to grab at his companions face.

Quick to the draw and always on guard, Ulquiorra ducked the third attack. Knees bending, toes straining to uphold his weight, he sent himself down to the ground before forcing his body to stretch out one leg and swing the rest of his human container around and away as Grimmjow barreled by him once again.

Not as light on his feet as before, the blue haired teenager growled when he was forced to an ungraceful halt so as to avoid tripping. But with one wave of his arms he was on his toes once again. Turning and knowing that his opponent was only a few feet away, he raised his left knee in preparation to violently impale his brother upon the stomach.

Out of the corner of his eyes, the green eyed Espada saw Grimmjow's left leg disappear. He was no doubt going to go in for a kick. But Ulquiorra had already begun propelling his body upward. Were he to duck again, he'd be too slow and the blow would catch him in the face instead of the gut, which was far from preferable. All he could do was try to force his legs to finish the job and send him into the air.

Sliding one leg a few inches forward as Grimmjow's knee came into sight; Ulquiorra finished his attempt to stand and immediately followed the move by vaulting into the air, his companion's leg missing the tips of his shoes by only a hairs breadth.

Reaching out mid jump, the fourth grabbed hold of Grimmjow's shoulders and used the anchor as yet another propelling force. With wide eyes, the blue haired man watched as Ulquiorra shoved down on his frame. Thrusting his legs into the air, the dark haired teenager forced his toes to the sky, standing up on his hands for only a second before completing the back flip over Grimmjow's head, their eyes meeting momentarily before Ulquiorra shoved his weight off of Grimmjow and into the air.

With what had once been practiced skill, the fourth landed on the balls of his feet directly behind Grimmjow, their figures back to back as Ulquiorra balanced his weight, cursing his human legs for not being able to withstand the force of his landing without cracking violently.

Knowing though that the move would not faze the sixth for very long, the green eyed Espada continued his landing, ducking yet again as Grimmjow turned, swinging his arms violently in an attempt to catch the dark haired man with his fists.

Spreading his legs, Ulquiorra sent one around and between Grimmjow's own. Though his muscles stretched as he forced his human body to succumb to his demands, he was able to place his whole being only inches from the ground. Hands flattened against the dusty roof, stomach sucked up against his spine, chin centimeters from destruction, hair catching dirt, the fourth was able to slide right between his companions twisting legs, erupting on the other side of the fist that was aimed for his skull.

Using the first leg he'd placed through the opening in his brother's defenses, the green eyed Espada threw his body into the standing position, turning on his heel as well so as to face the oncoming blow that was no doubt aimed for his face.

But there was none.

Snapping his eyes to the side in a momentary lack of focus, Ulquiorra heard a raucous of laughing. The noise was what had halted Grimmjow's attacks as well. Dropping his defense, the fourth realized that he was no longer the blue eyed mans pray. Instead, his azure gaze was focused on none other than the orange haired shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki.

Ulquiorra couldn't really blame him for changing the direction in which to aim his rage. The boy was, after all, laughing boisterously and pointing directly at Grimmjow. Not really caring that his fight had ceased, the green eyed man was content to watch how this new battle would play out.

Audibly growling, Grimmjow pounced over to the group of high schoolers. Without so much as a fraction of hesitation despite the gasping the erupted from the group, the sixth smashed the heel of his right hand into the chin of the orange haired shinigami, sending the boy's head flying back against the fence.

Seeing as the blue haired Espada had obviously taken his rival by surprise, he wasted no time in acting upon a fleeting thought. With his right hand still in the air, he used to his left to snatch the paper bag out of Kurosaki's hand before turning and leaping away from the astounded group once again. Though whether they were surprised by Grimmjow's audacity in attacking someone who was obviously much more powerful than he or just plain out shocked by his sudden appearance, neither ex-hollow could tell.

Placing himself beside Ulquiorra once again, the sixth wasted no time in forcing open the bag and reaching inside. With a sadistically happy grin, the blue haired man pulled out a homemade rice ball.

"Yuzu's cooking no doubt," he taunted just loud enough for the now enraged shinigami to hear. Ichigo had quickly recovered from the surprise attack and was on his feet, a dark red mark forming beneath his chin.

"That's my lunch you fuckin' thief!" Kurosaki yelled as he violently pointed his finger at Grimmjow once again. Raising his eyebrows, the blue haired man watched as Ichigo finally pulled himself together and came barreling at the two.

Ulquiorra, being the innocent bystander, stepped gracefully to the side and allowed Grimmjow to deal with his new attacker. Turning, the sixth vaulted to the edge of the roof, the bag crumpled in his hand. Grin growing wider, the blue haired teenager chucked the bag and what remained inside of it over the fence, much to Kurosaki's gasping shock, and down onto the school grounds, the contents falling out on the journey and littering the grass below.

Turning, Grimmjow took one bite of the rice ball before it was bodily slammed out of his grasp. Eyes wide, the blue haired man coughed what he'd previously inhaled across the roof as an orange blur slammed him into the ground.

Slightly disgusted as Grimmjow's saliva and chewed food was spat across the area, Ulquiorra decided it was better if he focused on the bitten rice ball that was now precariously bouncing away from the two men lying on the ground in a heap.

It didn't take them long however to realize that the food stuff had left the sixths hands. They both spotted the disheveled snack only feet away. Shoving Kurosaki to the side and onto his butt, Grimmjow went on hands and knees, his long arms reaching for the dust covered object. But as his fingertips brushed the stolen food, he was suddenly slammed to the ground. Face pressed to the roof by the shinigami's large hand, it seemed that his attempts would be in vain for now Kurosaki would have no trouble simply reaching out and plucking the dirtied rice ball from its current position.

With just those thoughts in mind, the orange haired boy went to swipe the snack out of Grimmjow's reach, and growled when it was suddenly kicked across the roof. With what looked like a few choice words on his lips, the shinigami glanced up, only to have his face suddenly drop.

Unconsciously, he pressed Grimmjow's cheek farther into the roof, earning a gasping cough in response as both boys stared up at the being that had entered their fray.

"Whoth that?" the sixth garbled as he was only able to gaze as high as the new acquaintances waist.

"… The principle," Kurosaki replied quietly.

Silence.

"…Oh…" Grimmjow added as the two delinquents were glared down upon. Ulquiorra found a strange satisfaction in pondering what Harribel's response to this would be.

**oOo**

"Wow, you two were gone for a really long time," Orihime whispered as both Ichigo and Grimmjow slammed their bodies into their seats _only_ forty-five minutes after class had resumed. The orange haired teenager had a very deep frown etched onto his face while the blue haired one simply crossed his arms and glared daggers into those infamous orange locks. "Do you guys have detention or something?" She continued to whisper over Ulquiorra who was reading a book and successfully ignoring the world.

"No!" Grimmjow hissed venomously, his anger obviously directed at the boy sitting directly in front of him. Hearing as such, Ichigo turned in his seat to glare back at his partner in crime. "They had us call our 'parents' directly because it's only the first day."

"Well if you hadn't had such a snotty ass attitude and sucked up like _I_ was _trying_ to do then maybe we wouldn't have to stay after for some dumbass parent conference!" Ichigo rebuked quietly. "Or maybe you should have just stayed away from my lunch!"

"Well maybe you should have just never been born!" Grimmjow replied and glared right back at those hardening amber laced eyes.

"Oh I'll just go work on that one!"

"Good!"

Orihime sighed.

"I can hear you two bickering back there," their homeroom teacher, who also happened to be their math teacher, scolded and Ichigo turned back to face the front of the room. "You both missed the first lesson, but you still have no excuse to not get your work done. Being in trouble is _not_ excused. Page twenty-six, one through ten is due in twenty minutes." Mumbling to himself, Ichigo flipped open his math book and forcefully ignored Grimmjow who did the same only at a slightly slower pace.

Sitting back in her chair glumly, Orihime glanced down at her own work. She was half-way done with the last problem and wasn't in any real rush to finish it seeing as it really wasn't that difficult. It was review after all, and she was pretty good at retaining that kind of information over the summer.

Casting a sideways glance at Ulquiorra, she saw that he had pulled out his book and was reading what looked like the tail end of it, his work finished and sitting on the corner of his desk. His hand writing was slanted and angular, she took note of, and not particularly neat though still readable. Hers was bubbly and round, much the opposite really.

Continuing to glance over, she spotted Ichigo scribbling diligently onto a sheet of lined paper, his shoulders stiff as he attempted to finish in the allotted time limit. Turning her gaze to the one sitting behind him, she frowned. Grimmjow sat with his forehead in his hand as he glared down at the math book, his pencil held tightly in his white knuckled hand, frozen.

He was completely and utterly foiled by the review problems.

They were all the same type of problems; one just had to know the formula and how to execute it. But if Grimmjow didn't know… he missed the review after all…

Sliding her own work under a pink folder on her desk, she ripped out a blank sheet and hoped that Grimmjow was a fast learner.

Standing, she placed her blank sheet of parchment on Ulquiorra's desk and poked Ichigo in the back with her pencil. Sitting back, the green eyed teenager stared up at her in slight confusion, though he said nothing, just as she knew he wouldn't.

"Ichigo!" she whispered and glanced up at the front of the room to make sure their teacher was occupied, which she was with today's newspaper. Turning, the grumpy shinigami raised his eyebrows at her. "Could you explain how this formula works? I completely forgot and I've been trying to figure it out this whole time, but I know you study real hard and-"

"Alright, alright," he muttered and turned back so he could write the formula out on Orihime's waiting paper, which was still placed firmly on Ulquiorra's desk. The green eyed man narrowed his eyes slightly, though still ceased to ask any questions.

Ichigo's sudden movement caught Grimmjow's attention and as he hastily explained the formula to her, Grimmjow was obviously listening. About halfway through the explanation, a look a sudden recognition crossed the sixths face and he turned hastily back to his paper where he began to write quickly and with vigilance.

"Do you get it now?" Ichigo asked. Laughing awkwardly and scratching the back of her head, Orihime gave him an uneasy nod. Taking that as an obvious clue to continue his own work, Ichigo turned back to what he'd been doing.

Sitting back down in her seat, she sighed and shoved the sheet of paper with Ichigo's handwriting into her folder, for later use as note paper, and pulled out her original work. Quickly finishing up the last problem, it didn't take her long to realize that Ulquiorra was staring at her.

Turning, silver met green. His gaze was still narrowed, his book still open in his hands. She smiled sheepishly at him. The action seemed to drag him from his thoughts and with a single blink he turned away from her, his reading once again the center of his attention.

**oOo**

"Have fun Tatsuki!" Orihime called over her shoulder as she dashed from the school lot. Her friend waved once before sprinting into the school and leaving Orihime's sight. She had practice on the first day of school. Sounded like a bit much to Orihime, she was already exhausted.

Turning out of the school yard, the orange haired woman took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as she skipped down the sidewalk. Opening her gray orbs wide, she giggled and swung her bag from side to side. It had been an exceptional day, and lunch had been very entertaining despite Grimmjow and Ichigo getting into trouble. They were probably in their "parent" meetings at that very moment.

Frowning, Orihime hoped that it wouldn't take them long to start getting along. They were so much alike, if they could just stop holding grudges then maybe they'd realize that. Ulquiorra didn't seem to hold anything against anyone, so why did Grimmjow, _and_ Ichigo, have to?

Although Ulquiorra was probably too emotionally stunted to feel anything, let alone a grudge.

"Oh, that was so mean Orihime!" she scolded herself and face palmed. It wasn't Ulquiorra's fault he was so stoic all the time. She knew he had emotions, plenty of them; he was just bad at expressing them. "You're just mad because he ignored you all day!" she told herself. It was true. Every time she'd tried to speak with him, they're schedules were very similar, he had plain out refused to even look at her. Needless to say, after their heart to heart (Orihime laughed at her own little pun there) she'd expected him to be a little friendlier, but perhaps that was just too much to ask.

Maybe he was shy?

Placing her finger thoughtfully on her chin, Orihime considered the thought, though it was quickly discarded. He wasn't shy, just… socially inept. Maybe he didn't know that it was impolite to plain out ignore someone, especially when that person was only trying to be his friend.

Perhaps she just had to be extremely straight forward with him.

Glancing up to cross the street, Orihime took in a quick breath. And here was her chance. But what was he doing headed for this side of town? He lived in the other direction…

Sprinting across the crosswalk, it only took her seconds to catch up with him.

"Ulquiorra!" she yelled and waved frantically when he stopped and slowly turned to stare at her. His bag was slung over his shoulder, a green strap with a white stripe down the middle, a few books bulging out the sides and straining the fabric. "Where are you going?" she asked when she reached him, her breathing slightly labored from the short jog.

He was silent for a moment, appearing to consider whether to answer her or not, before turning on his heel and walking once again. "Library," he stated shortly, his hand in the pockets of his trousers.

"Oh yeah, that's pretty close to my apartment complex," she continued behind him as she stared at the back of his head. "I go there sometimes, but usually only for comic books," she laughed lightly. "Do you read those too?"

"No." Frowning, Orihime decided that even his short answers weren't good enough. Granted, he was at least talking to her now, but this was hardly as vocal as he had been the other day. She had to bring that Ulquiorra back out!

Making it her mission, Orihime rushed to walk up next to him, her gray eyes glancing up at his green ones curiously. His gaze flickered to her momentarily before hardening, a sign of annoyance.

"What do you want Woman?" he asked bluntly.

"I think you're interesting to look at," she stated. He apparently didn't know whether to take this as a compliment or an insult, so he remained silent. "I mean you're so pale, yet your hair is so black and your eyes are _so_ green, very usual really."

"You are the unusual one Woman," he replied.

"What do you mean?" Orihime cocked her head to the side curiously and was shocked when he halted mid-step. Not able to stop as quickly, the orange haired girl had to turn to meet his narrowed emerald gaze.

"Why did you do that?" he asked and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Today in school," he clarified, "with the math work. You were almost already finished, yet you hid this fact from Kurosaki." He gaze turned hard, almost as if he were glaring at her. "Are you that desperate for his attentions?"

It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about, and then another to understand what he was implying.

Then she laughed, much to his obvious vexation.

"You sound jealous," she countered and his frown deepened.

"I do not dawdle in such useless emotions," he replied. "Now answer my question Woman." Crossing her arms over her chest, Orihime forced a peeved expression onto her face despite how her eyes glittered with mirth.

"You Sir," she turned away from him, "can no longer tell me to do _anything_." With that, she started walking again. She heard him inhale deeply before footsteps were heard coming after her.

Squeaking, the redhead was slightly surprised when his white hand clamped around her upper arm and forced her to turn and face him. Eyes wide, she was suddenly very aware of their close proximity. He eyes were narrowed still as they searched hers, their noses only inches apart. It didn't take him long however to drop her and take a step back. Confusion though was imbedded in his emerald orbs; he'd managed to get nothing out of her.

Taking another deep breath to calm his annoyance, Ulquiorra tried again. "_Please_ explain to me why you acted the way you did earlier today." His voice was soft, irritated, and tight, and Orihime feigned thoughtfulness as she considered answering his questions.

"I don't think I will," she decided. "I mean you accused me of using such petty excuses to talk to Ichigo, and any girl would take offense to something like that. I'm in no mood to explain _anything_ to you." She shrugged innocently.

"You are infuriating," he decided with a growl. Orihime could no longer act serious and her throat released a giggle. He picked up on her sudden change in mood though, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "I don't understand," he continued testily. "You act as though you are annoyed with me yet you laugh? I do not appreciate being misled. Speak plainly."

"Oh goodness," she sighed. "You're not exactly a ray of sunshine to be around either you know." Now she _was_ irritated. "I try my best to be nice to you and you ignore me all day long, and then when I finally get you to talk, you start bossing me around. _You're_ the one that's infuriating." She poked him in the chest, hard, and caused him to take a step back. "I'm not you're prisoner anymore so start treating me like a person, not a lab rat." His eyes widened slightly, but that was all the reaction she saw before she turned abruptly, her long hair whipping him across the chest.

She didn't like testing him like this, but she wasn't going to tolerate being treated like a… like a textbook. If he wanted answers then he'd have to be nice about. And like before, it was only a few seconds before she heard his light footsteps come up behind her.

"You're angry," he stated lamely.

"Yes."

"Because of my… discourtesy?"

"Disrespect."  
"Disrespect?"

"Yes," turning around a corner, Orihime forced him to fall into step behind her momentarily so she could avoid the curb before allowing him to once again walk beside her. He was apparently waiting for her to elaborate, but she refused. He sighed.

"I did not have any intention to offend you," he began. "I… apologize for being uncouth previously." Glancing up at him out of the corner of her eye, she decided that based on the utterly baffled look in his eyes he was being sincere.

He was awfully cute.

"You'll say please from now on?"

"… Yes…"

"Good!" she laughed happily and smiled up at him. "So I guess, since you've learned your lesson," a flash of anger went through his emerald gaze, "I can answer your question. I did it for Grimmjow." Confusion again. "He was obviously struggling with the math problems, so I got Ichigo to explain it to me so he could hear it. He strikes me as a fast learner so…" she shrugged.

"You went through all that effort on the minimal chance that he might pay attention?" Why was he always so confused around her? Nothing she said ever made sense. It was Grimmjow's own fault he missed the lesson, he was the one being an idiot, why save him from what he deserved?

Was it for the same reason that she was now… speaking with him? Even though he had probably traumatized her and nearly killed the man she claimed to love… twice?

"Well all I had to do was ask him," she continued. "Ichigo's too nice a guy to say no to anyone." Ulquiorra sighed. He hated it when she talked about that damn shinigami; he was all she _ever_ talked about.

Yet he had to then ask the most idiotic question, the one that could only lead her into a tantrum about Kurosaki's glory.

"Do you still claim to love him?"

"Wh-what?" she immediately flushed, his question obviously taking her completely by surprise. "Why would you ask that?" she added hastily. "I mean that's… kind of a personal question."

"You continue to speak of him in the highest regard as you did before," for whatever reason, he really wanted her to answer the damn question. "I was only curious to see if your heart had stayed true to what you seemed to claim was a very strong emotion."

"Well… I mean… sure I love him," she scratched her head. "But… my heart told me that I was only supposed to love him like I love all my friends, so my feelings for him… changed."

"He rejected you?" she gaped.

"What? No!" she shook her head and sighed. "I never actually told him. He's… in love with someone else. And I didn't want to get in their way, so I made myself move on." Her smiled returned. "Besides, I'm much more attracted to the tall, dark, and handsome types."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that…" she was thoughtful, "that I prefer men who have darker features? I don't really know how to describe it," she laughed. "It's one of those figures of speech that you just kind of grow up knowing, you know?"

"No, I do not," he replied coldly. "Please try to explain." She sighed again.

"Well… Ichigo is like… the guy next door. He's always around when you need him, he's sweet, strong, has lots of… 'emotions' I guess. Tall, dark, and handsome is the reserved guy that kind of…" she furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. "Well an example would be…" glancing up at him, she was suddenly very shocked to realize that his face was the only one that came to mind. "Uh…"

"That's alright," he cut in monotonously. "I see that you are having difficulty expressing the meaning. I will simply research the phrase later, should I feel that doing so is necessary." She nodded, not sure whether him looking it up would be good or not…

Wanting to change the subject, she decided that since he _was_ talking, she might as well ask the question that had been burning at the back of her mind since she'd realized he was alive.

"So…and I know that might be kind of a weird question," she laughed nervously, "but, uh, how exactly are you still… alive?" By the way his expression remained stoic; he must not be at all surprised by her inquiry.

"Urahara said that because our souls were torn between being humans and being hollow, they could not rest, thus we were thrown between the two worlds. Because we could not move on as either, our souls were reconfigured into whole beings again; it acted as kind of a loop hole in avoiding death. Then we had to make a choice, human or hollow."

"And you chose to become human," she whispered and glanced up at him curiously. "Why?" His emerald gaze flickered down to her uncertainly, apparently her question made him uncomfortable. "Well if you don't want to tell me," she shrugged, "I can wait until you trust me enough to confide such things." What an assumption. "What do you think of being a human though?"

"It is… exceptionally exhausting," she laughed merrily and placed her hands behind her back, staring up at him expectantly. Apparently she wanted him to elaborate. "My body is slow and useless which is very tedious in many situations. Not to mention it is exceptionally fragile. There is little to no control over it, I cannot stop it from expressing certain… emotions. And it consumes large quantities of time sleeping, which I feel is rather wasteful."

"Hm, hm, hmm," she hummed thoughtfully. "That sounds absolutely _terrible_." She was mocking him. "You know, compared to average everyday people, you're in really good shape. I wouldn't whine so much," she poked him on the arm, "and sleeping is fun, you get to have all kinds of dreams, not to mention they can be extremely insightful. As for your other complaint, that's not something to be ashamed of. Trust me; you're not nearly as expressive as you think you are. Try and learn from what your new body is telling you, maybe it knows something you don't."

"I highly doubt that," he replied coldly. She shrugged and they fell silent momentarily. Orihime found it nice that, despite their past, it didn't feel difficult to talk to him. Granted yes, sometimes it was hard to get _him_ to talk, but there was no awkwardness, no mutual feeling of discomfort. It was very… natural. Not to mention she felt as though she could tell him anything, there was no fear that he would go blabbing to other people. And he wasn't judgmental, at least not of her it seemed. She trusted him.

She probably would have trusted him in this manner before had he given her a chance. Had he given _himself_ a chance.

"Well," there was a sense of finality in her voice, "this was fun, but that's my apartment complex." She pointed to a large building directly across the street. "So I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"I suppose," he stated monotonously as he too stared up at the multiple story residence. It wasn't anything spectacular, rather ordinary actually. Little windows dotted the outside along with balconies and porches on the bottom floor. Had it not been for the fact that she had told him she lived there, he wouldn't have even paid it a second glance.

"Okay!" she waved lightly before crossing the street, turning she smiled brightly, "hope you have fun at the library." Skipping into the parking lot across the road, he watched her as she headed for the main entrance.

But she would not reach it.

A growling howl ripped across the city, a gaping hole appearing in the sky. Glancing up, green and gray stared intently as a clawed arm scraped against the clouds.

**oOo**

They refused to look at each other. Arms crossed over their chests, the two teenage boys glanced pointedly in opposite directions. Their principle was obviously displeased, and their respective parents looked much the same standing behind the two delinquents who were placed precariously close together in two hard, wooden chairs before a large oak desk.

Isshin was shaking his head, hands in the pockets of his lab coat. Harribel had her arms crossed under her chest, her back stiff. She was slightly nervous; this had been the last thing she'd expected. Handling this type of situation would be new. Her dark haired counterpart, on the other hand, was exasperated, having been through this many, many times with his only son.

"I have to say I _am_ a little surprised," their principle started. "Ichigo has had his share of problems, but to fight on the first day of school? I don't want this to become a habit between you two." The older man was stern as he leaned his elbows on his desk, fingers intertwining in front of his face. Needless to say, he wasn't the least bit intimidating to any member otherwise occupying the room. He was trying though. "I cannot speak for Grimmjow's past behavior in school," the blue haired Espada visibly snarled, "but a little self control would be appreciated from _both_ of you." Ichigo sank lower into his chair, ignoring the disapproving stare he was receiving from his father. "Now you two have only just met," both held back a scoff, "so let's clear our heads of all this nonsense and try to start over tomorrow, yes? Just put your skirmishes behind you and begin anew. It's a new year, a new beginning, so why not try and make the best of it?" By the look on the older man's face, he didn't hold much hope for this happening.

"We appreciate you not putting this on their records," Isshin forced a smile onto his face. "This won't happen again." Ichigo doubted that. They sat right next to each other; the odds of them _not_ fighting again were slim to none.

As if reading his mind, the father shinigami placed his hand on his sons shoulder and squeezed it overly tight. A warning no doubt.

"Yes, thank you," Harribel had her green eyes glued to Grimmjow's blue hair. He was in for a serious scolding after this. "I don't know what could have come over them, but perhaps now it's out of their systems." An additional warning. Both held back another dubious scoff.

"I'm glad to hear it," their principle stood and walked around his desk. Seeing that as invitation enough, both boys stood as well. They towered over the short man, as did both Isshin and Harribel, but if this bothered him he didn't show it. "I'll be expecting a better attitude tomorrow. I won't tolerate this. One more fight and I'll be forced to suspend you both." Ichigo sighed. That was just great; he was never going to finish high school now.

"You won't have any more problems," Isshin assured as he steered his son towards the door. Nodding in approval, the principle watched as the two opposing forces left the room, the door closing behind them as they made their way down the hall to a deserted corner of the building.

As soon as they stopped, Ichigo stiffened; bracing himself for what he knew was coming. A head-but, a kick to the face, some kind of physical abuse delivered from his overly emotional dad. Squeezing his eyes shut, he put his hands in front of his face.

But a hit never came.

Hesitantly, the young shinigami opened one eye and glanced around the hallway. His father stood some ways away next to that female ex-Espada there on Grimmjow's behalf. His blue haired rival had strayed away from the fuming adults, though he was careful to stay a fair distance away from Ichigo as well.

Isshin sighed angrily and Ichigo shrank before him. He wasn't sure what to think. This was not the reaction he'd expected, not the reaction he'd gotten every other time he'd been sent to the principal's office. Normally his father didn't make a big deal out of it, saying that he was "just a growing man in need of release," but he appeared seriously peeved this time around.

And the blonde's expression was about the same.

"This ends now," the woman stated, staring pointedly at both of them. "You two are acting like children. I don't know what it is that you cannot stand about each other, but you need to get over it." Both teenagers stared at the floor. "I'm not going to tolerate this every day. And don't you dare say anything smart!" Grimmjow closed his mouth once again. "You know what Urahara said, you need an education to survive here. Whether you like it or not, you live here now, and you had best make the best of it. Getting suspended is _not_ an option."

"She's exactly right," Isshin crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't bother about you getting into fights before Ichigo, but these scraps you two have stem from nothing. If you can tell me one reason, give me one viable excuse for having acted this way, then I might let it go." Grimmjow looked like he wanted to object again, but decided differently when he saw the angry glint in Isshin's eyes. "That's what I thought," the older man continued after silence was all he got in response to his question, "so both of you get your heads out of your asses and quit dwelling on the past. It's not going to get you anywhere and I _will not_," Isshin stared pointedly at his own son, "have you disturbing the already fragile state of the reiatsu in this area _again_ because you cannot control your temper." The young shinigami's cheeks flared red in embarrassment.

"Are we clear?" Harribel questioned and raised her eyebrows expectantly. Sighing, Ichigo nodded and stared at the floor again.

"You can't tell me what to do," Grimmjow rebuked angrily. "You aren't my mother." The young shinigami cast his classmate a skeptical gaze out of his corner of his eyes. Harribel responded much the same way, only her green eyes narrowed angrily as well.

"Excuse me?" she whispered dangerously. "Listen Grimmjow, I don't know who you think you are, but you need to get over it right now. You live in _my_ house, so you will follow _my_ rules. I understand that you never wanted to be human, but you don't have much of a choice now, and I will _not_ hesitate to throw you out if you threaten the balance most of us have tried very hard to attain." Ichigo was shocked to see hurt momentarily flash across the blue haired teenagers face. "That is not something I want to do, believe me, but you either make an effort to be part of this family, or you leave. And let me tell you, it's a lot harder to make something of yourself in this world than it was in Hueco Mundo. The world of the living is a whole lot more complicated, and with your current temperament and lack of competent skills, you would get nowhere. Urahara didn't drill into you ten years worth of education and public skills so you could throw it all away on some done and over with grudge you have. Do you understand?"

Silence.

"I said 'do you understand?'"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child!"

"I'll talk to you the way your attitude deems you should be treated. You acted like a child today, so apparently you want to be treated like one too. If you want to be treated like an adult then start acting like one."

"And how does an 'adult' act Harribel?" Ichigo cast a sideways look at Isshin who only shrugged. "You say 'be a part of this family,' what 'family' are you talking about? We're just a bunch of fuckin' misfit hollow's thrown into a house and forced to live together! At least Starrk has enough sense to be gone most of the time. And Ulquiorra, please, what does he do to make any of this easier? He's so fuckin' silent all the time, he never communicates with anyone, maybe you should try yelling at him for acting like a child! At least I'm proactive in my immaturity!" Grimmjow knew he was probably saying things he'd regret later, but he was just so… angry… all the time. "You're trying to make this damn charade we're living a reality and-"

"Charade?" Harribel's tone had risen from her whispered intensity to a stern and steady octave of intimidating voice. "Look around you Grimmjow, this life, the house we live in, it's not temporary! No matter how much you want it to be, this life isn't a farce! You think you're going to just… wake up one morning and be the sixth Espada again? Well guess again Grimmjow, that's not going to happen! You say Ulquiorra doesn't do anything to further our situation, but let me tell you, he's doing a hell of a lot more than you are. At least he's accepted his fate, unlike you, and is trying to live with what he has. Quit living in the past! It's over with! Stop dwelling on the impossible and focus on what _is_ possible. You're so busy looking at the negative all the time that you fail to see anything positive! Stop being angry over what you lost and consider what you have now, because I guarantee it's a whole lot more valuable then pointless fighting and bloodshed!"

Grimmjow took a deep breath through his nose, his fists balled at his sides. He didn't know what to say, but he was just so… so…

"Listen Grimmjow," Harribel's voice softened, "I know this is never the life you envisioned for yourself, you never wanted to be weak, to be vulnerable. Believe it or not, but I know how you feel. But this… constant anger you have towards what you've become, it's only going to continue to hurt you more than you already are." She took a step forward and placed a gentle hand on the taller boys arm. He was shaking with his contained, torturing rage. "Find something else worth living for."

"What else is there?" he spat. "All I ever wanted was to be… to be…"

"I know," she nodded. "You're a lot stronger than you think you are though." She smiled softly. "There are more strengths than just… physical ones. Lilynette _adores_ you, so find strength in that. Find strength in the fact that Starrk trusts you to protect her when he's gone. It's a lot harder for him to leave than you think it is. And Ulquiorra respects you more than you know, probably more than _he_ knows. You're driven and passionate, qualities he doesn't have yet. Use those strengths to overcome what you lost."

"It's not that-"

"Grimmjow," her voice was stern yet soothing, "… let it go." He sighed and shook his head. He couldn't let it go, not yet. He wanted, _needed_ to be stronger. And he knew he had a reason for needing to be so, but he had yet to find it. Until then he'd just be… there. Useless. That's what he was, completely and utterly _useless_.

"I just…"

Four sets of eyes suddenly snapped wide, senses ripping across their skulls as huge amounts of familiar reiatsu filtered into the air.

"Hollow…" Ichigo muttered, mouth agape. "Lots of them…"

"Menos," both Harribel and Grimmjow stated. "A whole army of Gillian," the blonde added. "What in the world? Why would so many…?"

"I don't care why," Ichigo growled, "but they just stepped into the wrong town."

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

And the plot thickens… next chapter! A little insight into Grimmjow's personality for ya. I figured he'd probably have the hardest time adjusting, though Ulquiorra isn't doing a whole lot better, lol. All those teenage hormones, makes it difficult :D Maybe the two rivals will start to get along a little better… or they won't, we'll see! Lol!

Moving tomorrow, yay!

Well, I'm going to go back to packing.

Write to ya'll soon!

Toodles!

Oh, does anyone know if it snows in Karakura? I'd kind of like to know, thanks.


	7. Skipping Forward

**The Definition of Love**

**WARNING! THERE IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY GORY SCENE IN THIS CHAPTER!**

_"Here we go again_  
_ I kinda wanna be **more** than friends_  
_ So take it easy on me_  
_ I'm **afraid** you're never satisfied._

_ Here we go again_  
_ We're **sick** like animals_  
_ We play **pretend**_  
_ You're just a **cannibal**_

_ And I'm afraid I wont get out **alive**_  
_ No I won't sleep tonight_

_ Oh, oh_  
_ I **want** some more_  
_ Oh, oh_  
_ What are you waitin' for?_  
_ Take a bite of my **heart tonight**_"

_**Animal - Neon Trees**_

**Chapter 7: Skipping Forward  
**

She watched in utter surprise as one long arm grasped at the bright blue sky, ripping the hole between her world and theirs farther and farther across the heavens. The moaning emanating from opening shook her very being, and just as the thought of their being more than one encroaching upon the world of the living crossed her mind, a whole army of pasty white, clawed arms reached through the gaping eye.

She had to find Ichigo.

She watched, backing up from the door, as the hollow's gripped the edge of the portal, pulling their ugly, identical heads through the opening. There were at least twenty of them, perhaps thirty. And who knew how many waited behind. This whole thing seemed strangely… planned.

Their heads swiveled, their long noses pointed towards the ground, almost as though they were searching for something, for someone. Yes, these monsters were on a mission.

Suddenly one snapped its head, the movement appearing slow to the naked eye, but still faster than normal. Its empty gaze fell on the area in which Orihime lived, its dead stare taking in every inch of her, the people around her, and the surrounding buildings.

Her gray eyes widened as it opened its mouth, a red force field forming between its teeth. She had to act quickly, but these Gillian, they were moving so much more swiftly than usual, as if they had been given direct orders to fulfill a certain task.

Who could give such orders? And what were they looking for?

Realization hit her as she raised her hands to reject the oncoming blow. Unfortunately she was too slow, her fingers seeming to outstretch in slow motion. No, she didn't have to say the words anymore, but the physical command was still necessary.

This fault in her power would be his to suffer.

Eyes widening even more, she saw him turn and face the oncoming ray with a deep set frown. His green eyes widened as his chin lifted, the muscles in his jaw tightening with resolution. His black hair blew backwards, the piercing red bolt causing a rift in the air as it barreled through the atmosphere.

She could feel a scream on the edge of her tongue, though what little good it would do she could not fathom, it would not reach him in time, nor would he have been able to escape the attack anyway.

She could not intercept the blow quickly enough…

She would watch him disappear, turn to dust…

Again…

Again she would fail to help him…

With speed uncharacteristic of a human, he threw his hands up in front of his face, his legs bracing against the sidewalk. She saw determination settle into his emerald gaze as the bolt came pounding upon him.

And as if it were a year ago, the deep red cero collided with his palms and blasted back the other way, rendered useless against his defenses. Her scream almost turned to a joyful exclamation. She shouldn't have been worried, this was Ulquiorra she was watching, he could withstand almost anything…

The thoughts were fleeting. Her _memory_ had only conjured him reflecting the bolt totally and completely. She had felt such relief, only to have it slip away. He had once had great strength, the ground would crack beneath him before a single amount of any force would get by him, buildings would shake, walls would crumble, people would drop, before any harm could come to him…

Things were different now.

Orihime watched in horror. Yes, the cero had been momentarily blocked, but at just as grave a price if he had just let it pound upon him. It felt slow even though everything was happening in only a second. She could see the splitting, the shattering, the blood and the tissue. He wasn't dust, not yet.

It started at his hands, his fingers becoming engulfed by the burning heat of the attack. They disappeared, evaporating into nothing, rendering his upper appendages useless. The force of the hit rippled through his whole body, the bones within his arms acting like daggers. The skin burned, but the bones, they retreated. Like bullets, shattered white shards shot from the backs of his shoulders, impaling upon the sidewalk behind, dripping in red. They stuck straight up, waiting for their next victim.

She could see the orange reiatsu based shield whizzing from her fingers.

But it was too late…

Like an invisible fire, the power engulfed the empty skin of his upper limbs, burning away the flesh to leave nothing but momentarily spurting stubs behind. The wave continued. She saw his torso bend backwards, his spine pulling at the pale white skin, stretching it, his clothes ripping and falling away, turning to nothing. His chest shred, the flesh tearing right up the middle, slitting his throat and slashing his face. With a heave of freedom, the backbone erupted triumphant, taking the pale blanket of skin with it. Surging back, it snapped, the dark haired head flipping back as the treacherous bones flew from his being, leaving his innards exposed to the wrath of the outside.

Bouncing across the walkway, the tiny bones ran, throwing the leather blanket they had retrieved to splatter upon their impaled fellows, a most perfectly hidden booby trap set behind a defenseless man.

His mouth was open, his bloodied and skinless lips dripping and exploding as his green eyes rolled. With a vengeance, the wave cascaded downward, splitting the bones of his legs through the center. It made an internal booby trap, one that was just set off. Piercing through his now evaporating pants, the small blade-sized shards grew out of his skin, ripping and shredding it. Tendons snapped, joints burst, and blood threw itself free in an angry frenzy.

So close, yet so far, the orange daggers sought to form a perfect triangle.

And as they did, the remaining bits of human plummeted to the ground.

A ribcage, bloodied and broken, hit first with an earsplitting crack. Dripping blood splashed into a puddle soon after, small remnants of skin flowing down the stream to the nearest storm drain.

A dismembered head plopped down into the red pool. Falling to the side, it stared at her with a black, nonexistent gaze, mouth agape, skin boiling and melting, seeping down the sides of the white bone and oozing to mix with the rest of the remains.

The shield sprung to life just in time to watch internal organs turn to rotting dust, the last remaining breath that had once been inside a stunningly attractive man whistling into the air, leaving their once functioning compartments behind to leach into the concrete.

Orihime watched with excruciating fear as her legs began to pump her forward when that last bit of life began to evaporate. With dizzying speed, time reclaimed what it had momentarily forsaken. Tripping across the street with klutzy speed, the young woman ignored the blood that splattered across her face, that soaked her sweater, that splashed and drenched her socks. Not watching where she was headed, she tripped over the sidewalks ledge and landed, hands swimming, in the pool of blood, organs, bone, and skin.

The cero was blocked now; it would not continue to decimate what remained of him. Her shield would prevent that.

Without so much as a shaking gesture, she called out her most powerful skill. It was second nature, and perhaps that was scary. Her ability to turn back time was what made her dangerous, and sometimes she wondered, after she'd reversed one event or another, if it had been the right thing to do, if she was going against some divine law and thwarting someone's plans.

Those thoughts were buried deep now though, all she could think about were those empty eyes, staring at her from across the street.

She had to return those emerald orbs to their rightful place.

There was no choice.

She _had_ to save him.

Failure was not an option, not again, not _ever_.

**oOo**

"He was right," Isshin muttered once they'd reached the outside of the school, the other three occupants turning momentarily to stare at him. They were quickly distracted though as dozens of white masked heads burst through the opening. And as Ichigo ripped his substitute shinigami badge from his trousers, one swiveled and aimed a perfectly straight cero down to the earth. With lightning speed, he dropped his body and disappeared.

"What are you talking about?" Harribel turned back to Isshin, her eyes suspicious. Grimmjow focused on him as well, taking Lilynette's hand as she and Nel burst from the car sitting by the curb. The Younger of the girls gripped Harribel's skirt in her small fist. Karin and Yuzu came running up to them from the vehicle parked behind the first, shock plastered across their young faces as they watched the eruption in the sky.

"Urahara explained something to me when I saw him that night after I took you home," his gaze hardened as he nodded to the blonde woman. "I knew something was strange about your reiatsu, and I knew he had something to do with it. I couldn't sense it exactly, as I can other shinigami. Like Ichigo's it has a... twisted touch to it, not in a bad way, but different. He explained to me who and what all of you are, and from there our conversation continued.

"He told me something of great importance," his eyes flickered to the hollow momentarily, they hadn't found them yet. "You see, your reiatsu is strong, much higher than a normal human's, but harder for soul society to trace. It is near human, but just on the opposing side of what a shinigami is," he shook his head. "Soul Society doesn't look for such things in the world of the living, only normal class hollow's, not arrancar, not ones as developed as what you were. Thus you're safe from them. They feel that if one of your kind were to enter here, they would sense it without the help of their hollow tracking technologies. But your energy is not centered and compact like before, it flows freely, only a small bit of it under your control. And much like Ichigo's when he first became a shinigami, it attracts unwanted attention.

"You are a greater threat to yourselves than you know. Urahara wasn't joking when he stated that you would need my son's protection. You see, shinigami may not be as familiar with your reiatsu, but hollows are. And with the pressure levels in this town fluctuating so much, the walls between our world and theirs sometimes snap, leaving huge entrances like _that_ one for small amounts of time.

"But Gillian don't usually leave Hueco Mundo, human souls do not satisfy their appetites."

"They're here for us," Harribel interjected. "They sense what was once hollow in us, recognize it as powerful yet weak because of our current forms, and wish to take advantage of it. They could grow immensely more powerful if they devoured us."

"Exactly," Isshin nodded. "They found that hole and came through when they sensed you, talk about being in the right place at the right time…"

"Wait, if they're here to 'eat' us," Grimmjow crossed his arms as he stared up at the gaping hole, "then why did that one just release a cero? They wouldn't want us destroyed if they wanna eat us."

"Because," Isshin continued. "They're under someone else's command. The higher hollow influence the lower. If an Adjuchas lures them through the hole to find you, they can then simply tell them to destroy instead of devour," he frowned.

"You're saying this was a setup?" Harribel questioned incredulously.

"Yes," he replied simply. "I think it's safe to assume that you made a few enemies when you decided to come here instead of going back to Hueco Mundo."

"Of course," Harribel turned to stare up at the gaping hole that was only getting stretched continuously wider. "Then when that one…" Eyes widening suddenly, the blonde turned to face Grimmjow, panic quickly settling at the base of her leafy gaze. "Where is Ulquiorra?"

"What?" Grimmjow shook his head skeptically. "How the fuck should I know? It's not my day to-"

"Did he tell you where he was going?" she shrieked and the blue haired man jumped back, eyes wide and jaw lowered in shock at her sudden voice whipping.

"He said he was… going to the library…?"

Turning to the direction where the cero had been fired, her breath caught in her throat. The orange haired shinigami had barely left his body when that thing had touched down.

Her youngest son would have been defenseless.

**oOo**

Orihime lived in that area. That was the first thought that had run through his head. The second had been to consider how high her reiatsu was and if she had been the target. The obvious answer had to be yes and as he halted above her apartment complex, his breath caught in his throat.

His fears momentarily realized, he allowed his eyes to widen. Blood everywhere, Orihime sitting in the middle of it, covered and on her knees. He'd wanted to rush down there, to ignore the hollow's in favor of seeing whether what his brain was telling him was true or not.

Yet logic prevailed. There was both a shield and a healing coffin below him. Those things would be most certainly impossible if she were near death or already there. Whoever that blood had leaked from was the one she was healing, and Ichigo pitied the poor wretch that had suffered that painful fate.

"Ichigo!" he jumped and turned, coming face to face with purplish-blue eyes. "How long does it take you to realize she's fine? If you would just work on sensing reiatsu you'd have known that as soon as you'd gotten here." Scowling, he glared up at the small woman standing about ten feet above. "So are you going to help me take care of this hollow problem or-"

"Shut up, jeez," he snarled. "I'm coming so just chill out." She narrowed her big eyes at him disapprovingly, but decided to remain silent when Renji flashed into the picture. With his zanpakuto already in release form, the redhead looked at the two of them as though they were idiots and pointed to the hole in the sky.

"I get it!" Ichigo yelled and jumped into action, leaving his friends to follow suit, one bewildered by his sudden bad temper, the other seething quietly.

**oOo**

"They won't stay long," the dark haired father mentioned as they power walked down the street. Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji were easily keeping the situation under control, though it didn't appear to be escalating much. "None of the Gillian even stepped through the hole, it's only a test."

"A test for what?" Harribel replied distractedly as she dragged Nel down the street after her. It was obvious she was hardly listening to anything the older man was saying. She had an objective, to find Ulquiorra, and she could not let anyone deter her from that.

Though Isshin _was_ trying.

"I can't say, but if they were really here for any kind of purpose, they wouldn't be standing stoically in that hole watching those three destroy their numbers," he had both Karin and Yuzu by the hands, and both girls watched in fascination as their older brother quickly slashed and destroyed the humungous monsters.

"What would they have to test?" Grimmjow questioned from the back of the group. "I mean, whoever is behind this must know we're humans, and everything in Hueco Mundo knows of… your sons power," he had been about to insult the annoying pest right in front of his family. Close call. "What would they have to gain?"

"I think that's exactly it," Isshin continued. "They wanted to test Ichigo. From what I can figure," they turned an abrupt corner, Harribel leading the way, "whoever is controlling those Gillian is obviously after you, but they're trying to figure out what Ichigo's going to do about it. It's a stupid plan if that was their objective. Whether my son would prefer you all dead or not is of no relevance, no right minded shinigami is going to stand by and watch a horde of Gillian waltz on in."

"I think we're missing something," the blonde woman huffed, her legs pumping her along steadily. "I know the possible Adjuchas behind this and no plan of theirs would be so-"

Stopping dead, Harribel took in a quick breath, her green eyes widening. At the sound of her sudden intake, those blood framed silver eyes glanced up, the fear they held piercing to the blonde woman's very core.

**oOo**

"These guys aren't even putting up a fight," Renji muttered, sounding almost disheartened. "I mean they're just lookin' at us like morons." Ichigo sighed and rubbed his temples. This really was getting rather old. They'd killed at least fifty now and they just kept popping up. They never left the hole though, just continued to file forward and stare at the shinigami with those empty black eye. "I feel almost bad for killing them…"

"Please Renji," Rukia scoffed. "They're hollow's, pity should have no place anywhere near here." Turning to her right to stare at her long time friend, she raised her eyebrows challengingly. "Unless of course you're afraid, they could easily overwhelm us after all, if they really wanted to."

The redhead rolled his eyes, "Please Rukia, as if a thousand of these guys stood a chance against us. They're hardly any more dangerous than normal hollow nowadays, just a bunch of idiots swaying back and forth."

"Are you saying that they got weaker and are now at about your same level, because that's what it sounded like to me," the petite woman rebuked and glanced back at the hollow again.

"That's not what I meant!" Renji hissed. "I meant we've, and by _we_ I mean Ichigo and I, gotten past the point in strength that these guys don't even register," smiling cockily, he too turned away from her to stare at the gaping hole. "You're lucky _we're_ here, without us you'd be sunk."

"Please," she returned, "I'm a Kuchiki, I don't need assistance from lowly Lieutenants such as yourself. You know," she smiled slyly, "I don't know that I would even characterize you as such anymore. I mean, you were placed on patrol, and that's something only lower shinigami do after all."

"Hey," the redhead exclaimed angrily, "you know I'm only here because of the pressure problems here. Were it not for that then I wouldn't be wasting my time with you. It's not my fault no one felt you two could handle the job yourselves, which is pretty pathetic considering this area now has _two_ permanent patrollers."

Both Rukia and Ichigo turned to stare at the obviously delusional shinigami. But he was ignoring their stare in favor of sulking, his eyes cast downwards in a childlike fashion.

Being distracted, Ichigo never saw the sudden, swift blow coming. Well, one could hardly call it even that. It felt more like a slap.

Momentarily caught off balance, the strawberry was beyond surprised to find that one of those damned Gillian had had the nerve to take advantage of him when his guard was down. The snow white hand had merely flicked his neck with one finger, shoving him forward a few feet.

That it had been fast enough to do so was another interesting concept to consider.

"What the…?" the youngest Shinigami turned on his heel to face his attacked, but he couldn't tell which one it had been. Rubbing his neck self-consciously, he was surprised to see all the hollow finally retreating back into the darkness, the rip in the sky slamming shut behind them.

Silence.

"Well that was weird…" Renji muttered and scratched the back of his head. Nodding, Ichigo agreed wholeheartedly as he fingered the area on his neck where he'd been attacked. Weird was an understatement to say the least.

**oOo**

"There is no need for you to come any closer," Harribel glanced up with shocked eyes as the head of a curved cane poked her in the chest. "Trust me," the clogged man continued, "there is nothing here you want to see." She narrowed her eyes at him and he sighed. "Listen, Miss Inoue has it under control, so why cause you and your family more anguish than necessary, hmm?"

She got the message. In other words, no one younger than she needed to witness whatever it was that had happened to Ulquiorra.

"I understand," she replied and took a step back, her green eyes hardening in order to cloud her own panic. She didn't like this, she wanted to see him, to see what had really happened, but the others would follow. If what was behind that orange dome was as graphic as the puddle around it, the sight wouldn't do anyone any good.

"Inoue," Urahara yelled and the girl snapped her gaze up to stare at the back of his head. "Slip that shield under your patient and transport him to my shop. You have a lot of work ahead of you and I would rather you be in an area where I can watch your progression. No one needs you draining yourself unnecessarily." Unnecessarily? The gray eyed woman could barely listen to such words without being offended. That he could say such a thing was completely and utterly inappropriate. She would have no choice but to drain herself completely, if that's what it took. "Quickly," the blonde man snapped and glanced back her, his gaze hard and pressuring. It was then that she saw the peaking eyes behind him and understood.

Children should be save the sight, especially when it was someone they loved.

Pulling the shield beneath the remains and what she had managed to thus far reconfigure, which wasn't much, the blood drenched teenager lifted the orange field and began the short walk from her apartment complex to Urahara's candy shop.

"Grimmjow," the green dressed shinigami was strict in voice and manner, "take Nel and Lilynette home, it's up to you to watch them." The blue haired teenager didn't have time to object before he continued. "Harribel, I ask that you come with me, I have some things to discuss with you." Nodding, the blonde woman released Nel and pushed her towards her older brother. "As for the rest of you," he glanced pointedly up at the shinigami hovering above him. "Go home."

"What?" Ichigo spat and landed beside his father. "Go home? You saw what just happened didn't you? How can you tell me to just 'go home?' What the hell just happened?" Sighing, the blonde man shook his head.

"Not even I have a straight answer yet, so just go home Ichigo, all of you, and give me time to think on it. I'll let you know if I discover anything new." The orange haired boy looked about to object, but stopped when a firm hand landed on his shoulder. Shaking his head, Isshin made sure his son got the message and remained silent.

Nodding, the candy salesmen turned on one sandaled heel and started after Orihime. Harribel followed and the remaining group stared after them momentarily before slowly and steadily dispersing.

Life would once again return to a mundane kind of normalcy, but Ichigo had a hunch that this wasn't even close to being the _beginning_ of something far more interesting.

**oOo**

"You won't let me see Ulquiorra, so what is it that you want?" the blonde woman asked curtly while drinking a cup of tea. The green clad man sat across the table from her, a serious look on his face. Despite being overwrought about her obviously extremely injured son, Harribel was succeeding in facing this man with a straight face.

"It's time we quit this silly charade," she glanced up at him from behind the steaming tea. "You knew this would happen, and the time is now."

She scoffed, "I thought we'd have a little longer than this," she muttered, obviously disapproving of the whole situation. But what could she do? Nothing, she had to do what this man wanted or… "Hardly anyone else is even ready."

"I know," he stated, "but _you_ are." She stared at the coffee table thoughtfully. "And a few others are close. I want to start early with you." She narrowed her green eyes at him suspiciously, what did that mean?

"How am I any different than everyone else? Why be so concerned with me?"

"I've been watching you," she laughed shortly, "and you remind me of someone." Placing her cup down on the table, she took a deep breath and placed her hands in her lap, staring evenly at the man before her. "I want to try a few things with you that… differ from the others. Nothing major, but I… I owe it to someone to try."

"You're certainly being vague," she stated blandly. "But I'll listen to what you have to say, and act as I see fit. These other experiments of yours, if I feel they are too dangerous then I will refuse. I have too many people counting on me now to endanger my own wellbeing."

"Oh don't worry," he assured with a grin. "This isn't something _any_ of your kind could _ever_ refuse."

"Sounds like my night is going to be interesting," she conjured a sweet smile in reply.

**oOo**

She was tired, beyond tired really. The tips of her eyelashes were fluttering dangerously close to her cheeks, and so they'd been doing for what felt like an eternity. Her head would begin to fall to the side, her hair feeling like heavy weights, until the shield beneath her fingers tips would tremble, and she'd snap back to liveliness. The process would then repeat itself.

She didn't know how long she'd been sitting on her knees with her palms pressed to the orange glow. The only thing she truly registered was that her legs were snoozing uncomfortably beneath her, but she dared not move. If she disturbed the atmosphere she had created too severely it might wake him up, and that was the last thing she wanted, not when he was in the middle of a painful healing process.

Still, some ice-cream laden with red-bean paste sounded _so_ good…

Sighing, the redhead let her forehead fall to the barrier. Maybe if she could somehow prop herself against the shield it would stay…

But as soon as she fell victim to drowsiness, it began to shake and she went rigid, her eyes popping. So it was consciousness then that kept it afloat. She could probably release the shield, but it would be weaker, more like a stabilizer than a healer, and that was out of the question.

Him waking up in the middle of this was what she was trying to avoid, thus finishing as quickly as possible was the objective.

But… bringing someone who had only been a breadth away from death was awfully tiring. It wasn't the fact that he was near death that was challenging so much as _how much_ of him was near death. She'd healed plenty of fatal wounds, more than she wanted to acknowledge, but he'd suffered so many. She had to regenerate almost all of his body, not just one single organ or patch of sliced flesh. It wasn't the severity of the wounds that wore her down, but the depth and amount. And his wounds could hardly be called such, he was practically… nonexistent.

Still, she'd seen one of her _own_ being healed from much the same fate, so she knew it was possible. She just had to concentrate.

That was becoming increasingly more difficult though as time wore on. Shaking her head, she gulped back the tiredness and took a resolute breath. She _would_ stay awake, she would _not_ give up, and he would _not_-

"If you're that fatigued, I'm sure the process is close enough to being finished that I'll survive," gasping, it didn't matter how unyielding she'd been for the shield burst quite suddenly at her lack of sudden control. He winced from where he sat at the bright flash, and his drained eyes blinked momentarily.

He wasn't completely healed; he lacked some muscle definition and was more green than white in the face, but at least the emerald of his eyes had returned, even if they were a little more lack luster than usual.

Balling her hands into fists, the young woman held back a sudden wave of tears. He was okay! She hadn't realized until that very moment how much she had doubted her own abilities. That perhaps she could heal his body, but that bringing back his consciousness would be impossible. Yet there he sat before her, staring at her with that same disapproving, jade gaze.

Yes, it really was him.

"Ulquiorra!" she cried and leaped forward to wrap her arms around him, tears spilling from her gray eyes. She didn't register him stiffening beneath her, nor his sudden intake of breath in surprise and his widening green eyes. Burying her head against his chest, she tightened her grip around his middle. "I th-thought that I w-wouldn't be able t-to bring you back."

He didn't know what to do. His brain was frazzled and slow to begin with, but this only made it all the more confusing. He felt stuck in a rut, frozen, like too many commands were coming to his brain and he couldn't register any of them. There was a buzzing, an ache, in the back of his skull as these vague notions bombarded him, and with antagonizing slowness one finally burst through.

He blushed.

"W-woman," he stuttered awkwardly, unable to hide the embarrassed tremble in his voice, or the way his shoulders rose to retreat from her molesting form. "I'd appreciate some decency… _please_." This was… the most discomforting and humiliating thing that had ever happened to him.

Glancing up, her damp gray eyes came in contact with his, and he blushed all the more severely, his face beginning to resemble what it might look like on an extremely sunny day with no sunscreen, and he tried with desperation to hide behind his black locks. The heat to his face was immense, but it was doing little good to defer the heat from… other areas.

He hated this human body, he hated how mentally weak he was currently, and he _despised_ this damnable woman! His lack of control was disturbing to say the least. He hated this woman for putting him in this situation, yet apparently his _body_ did not as the stinging, fluttering feeling in his lower abdomen amplified. Two opposing forces and it could only end it his utter and complete shame.

"Are you alright?" she questioned naively and he took in a sudden shaking breath when her form moved atop him. Closing his eyes tightly and staring up at the ceiling, he rejected the sudden urge to gasp… gasp like a prepubescent teen having his first wet dream. "Cuz you look kind of-"

"**Move your leg Woman!**" he snarled desperately, trying to sound fierce yet only succeeding in sounding desperate, desperate and pleading. Of course her first objective was to look down and diagnose what was ailing him. This was the last thing he wanted her to do, but it was too late to take back his command. If only he'd pushed her away instead of voicing his impairment, then perhaps he could have hidden his… discomfort… instead of instigated an investigation into it.

She stiffened and with a flash she had jumped backwards, releasing the pressure her knee had had on him and allowing him to release the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The pressure had been… arousing, but its lack was much preferred in this situation, even if his groin disagreed with this mental assessment.

"Oh my god!" she had slapped one hand to her mouth, her face paling almost enough to match his normal complexion, which wasn't making an appearance currently. "I'm_so_sorry!" And with almost the same gusto as her exclamation, her eyes widened and her pale face backtracked into a very deep scarlet. "Ohmygod!" she slapped her other hand over her eyes. "You're _naked_!" Of course she'd known this was true as she healed him, it had been inevitable really, but as the final touches to her abilities had sunk in, she'd begun losing consciousness frequently, and had kind of… forgotten. An incomplete body without any clothes was something she could ignore for the sake of medical thought, but he was awake and functional now, _fully_ functional apparently.

Of their own accord, her middle and ring finger parted, giving her full view of him again. "_Oh my **god**_!"she whined and snapped her fingers shut again, "You're _still_ naked!" Turning abruptly, she jammed the heels of her hands into her eyes, mentally reprimanding herself. Why had she done that? Ugh! She'd never be able to get that image out of her head _now_!

Ulquiorra, on the other hand, let his shoulders slump at the sight of her back, his eyes narrowing at her. Of course he was still unclothed; she hadn't given him anything to cover up with. Human logic was… inconceivable sometimes.

Taking a deep breath, Orihime put her hands at her sides and was calmed when she faced an empty wall. No nudie Ulquiorra's. Wait, there was that image again! Gah! Closing her eyes tightly, she rapped herself on the head. _Stop thinking about it!_

Glancing around the room swiftly, making sure to avoid _his_ area, she scanned and was successful I her search. Near the door were two blankets and a pillow Urahara had left for her. One of the blankets had been to cover Ulquiorra when he'd reached a point of no longer being only blood and muscle, but she'd totally forgotten about _that_, much to her current exasperation.

Grabbing up one of the soft coverings, she chucked it behind her and was relieved when her aim was true as he "ommphed" when it hit him. Waiting a few seconds, she took a deep breath before turning to face him again.

Relief.

He sat huddled beneath the thick brown covering, his knees pulled up to his chest beneath the curtain and his chin resting upon them. He stared ahead, avoiding her, his face still burning brightly.

"Okay…" the redhead took and awkward breath and approached him. Bending down on her knees, she concentrated on her work instead of… everything else. She was fully awake _now_ and the healing shield was pulled up effortlessly around him, successfully producing another barrier between them.

Silence.

The air was so thick she could have cut it with a butter knife. It was heavy and full, bloated, and awkward. He was silent, she was silent. Even their breathing was quiet, as if both were going far and beyond to not be heard or noticed by the other. Unfortunately they were both red beacons of embarrassment. Hardly invisible to say the least.

The shield quivered and his eyes flicked to her momentarily, a mistake as he felt a new wave of redness encompass his face.

"I find nothing amusing about this situation," he growled and hugged his knees closer to his chest. He could see her losing control of her lips as much as the shield, they would go from a straight line to an obvious frown to a small grin and back again, spasming as she failed in holding back her mirth.

At the sound of his voice though she was no longer able to hold back and a hearty giggle reverberated around the room. Realizing her mistake, she smacked her hands to her lips, successfully breaking the shield around him. It disappeared though her laughter did not. She tried her best to stifle the high pitched noises, but was failing miserably.

"I'm sorry," she giggled quietly when he glared at her.

"There is nothing humorous about this," he hissed as yet another layer of redness dropped onto his features, "so stop that infuriating racket!" His reprimands only caused her to lose more control and he tightened his lips severely when she released her mouth in favor or laughing whole-heartedly. Growling, he turned away.

"I really am sorry," she stated through fits. "It's just… you're _so_ red!" She began giggling again and Ulquiorra felt eternal mortification settle onto his shoulders. He frowned, she'd never let this go.

Obviously sensing his discomfort, she halted the ringing noise erupting from her throat and frowned seriously.

"You're really mad aren't you?" No, he wasn't mad. Just… disappointed in himself. He felt like crawling into a hole and never coming out. He'd prefer _Hueco Mundo_ to this. The humiliation was truly disheartening. Now he knew what it felt like to have his heart fall into his stomach. The weight squashed anything that had been their previously, and for that he was thankful.

Momentarily.

He hadn't noticed her scooting closer and when she wrapped her arms around his middle again, he felt his heart leap into his throat, leaving plenty of room for the heat to come flooding back. At least this time he was sufficiently covered.

"I really am sorry for laughing at you," she pouted and tightened her grip on his gently, her gray eyes staring up into his, a silly frown plastered on her lips. She was trying desperately to hold back her amusement. Her dancing eyes betrayed her though.

"If you're so sorry," he spat, "then get away from me. You are not making this situation any more pleasant by attaching yourself to me." Her smile returned at his rebuke, and something else settled onto her face as well. Mischief perhaps? It was something he'd never seen grace her features before.

"I was convinced you thought otherwise," she replied with a giggle and his cheeks ached with crimson when he realized what she was implying. Unable to control the hurt and self-loathing that crossed his face, he turned away, hoping she wouldn't notice. She was only "teasing" after all, but it still bothered him.

Her grip loosened. She _had_ noticed.

"C'mon Ulquiorra," she tried to sooth, "it's not a big deal." Her thumbs rubbed his arm where her fingers linked together around him. "It happens to everyone, well, guys anyway," she was _so_ bad at this. He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to hide his humiliation. She sighed, but what else could she say? He was obviously set on beating himself up.

She considered releasing him, and it probably would have been the nice thing to do… but she liked hugging him. He was so warm and, well as she knew from previously, very soft. His skin was like a baby's, and maybe it was because she'd only just healed him, but it was still lovely to cuddle against.

'Course she would never tell _him_ that.

Tightening her hold again, she gave him one last squeeze before leaning up and, as much to her surprise as it was to his, brushing her lips softly against his cheek. He turned stiff as a board beneath her and she scolded herself mentally for acting on such silly impulses, now _she_ was blushing again.

Swiftly, his head turned to face hers, and she gasped at the anger she saw painted there.

"Are you _trying_ to kill me Woman!" he hissed venomously and her eyes widened at the anger laced therein, "because you're doing a fine job of it. I do not appreciate being the source of your entertainment." Sighing, the redhead released her grip on him and sat back on her butt, her arms crossed over her chest in irritation.

"You are so…" she furrowed her eyebrows, "so _silly_!" He gave her the most unenthused look her could muster. "Maybe if you'd have a sense of humor once in a while, situations like this wouldn't be so terrible."

"Were it not for you this situation wouldn't have ever been an option!"

"You're right, because you'd be dead!"

Silence, he stared at her resolutely and she stared right back. Finally, with a defeated snap of his head, the fourth turned away, the redness on his face still a predominant feature. Pouting, the redhead slouched as she stared at his hunched figure.

"You know it's really not that hard," she muttered and his eyes flicked over to her again. "Maybe if you'd just try it once in a while…" He narrowed his green orbs suspiciously. "See, watch," placing both her forefingers on her cheeks, she cocked her head to the side and let a loose an eye squeezing smile. "Now you try," she crossed her arms again, waiting. Scowling more deeply, the dark haired man visibly rolled his eyes. "That is most definitely _not right_." Grinning slyly, she reached up towards his face. "Let me help you."

Slamming her first two fingers against the corners of his mouth, he stared in shock as she forcefully pulled his pale lips upwards, straining the muscles that were never used. "See?" she continued as his eyes widened.

Taking hold of her wrists, he tried to forcefully push her back. "Remove your hands from my person Woman!" he stated firmly when she pursed her own lips and pushed back against his cheeks. "Woman!" he was weak. Normally, even as a human, he'd have had no problem returning her to her proper place, but his arms could not withstand her fortitude.

She laughed and leaned forward when he shoved her back again. Her wrists clamped in his hands, she formed her fingers into less than scary claws and scrunched up her nose in determination. They stayed like that for a few seconds, his nostrils flaring in his vain attempt to keep her at bay while she stood up on her knees, pressing down on him.

He gave way.

With a squeaking gasp, Orihime felt his grip on her snap and she fell forward, the force of her own strength knocking him backwards until they were sprawled across the floor, her head colliding with his chest.

Shaking her head, she frowned and placed her hands on either side of his head. Releasing him of her weight, she was about to roll to the side when she caught those emerald eyes with her own. She froze.

He was irritated, that was plain as day, and he was glaring at her, but there was something else there too. Something he couldn't keep hiding. It made her slightly self-conscious, but pleased as well. She smiled and he frowned more deeply, his dark hair splayed out to the sides of his face. Shifting to lean directly over him, her long hair fell around their faces, curtaining them from the outside world.

"You know," she muttered, "your face if going to stay like if you keep frowning all the time." If at all possible, his frown deepened and she laughed, suddenly aware of their precarious situation and why he was unhappy.

She straddled one of his bare legs with her own two, the blanket having fallen to the side in their tussle. His chest was bare beneath her, his rock hard muscles rising and falling with what she assumed was forced control. His green eyes were burning beneath those thick black eyebrows, and his lips were set in a stern line, his body stiff and rigid.

His hands were spread to the sides, his fingers gripping the carpet in claw like forms, the tension obvious.

"Please get off of me," he ground out bluntly and she giggled. He sighed, not sure whether to give up or keep fighting. She was wearing on his nerves, fraying them till they were practically nonexistent. She was lucky he had what little control he did, or she'd be…

"So serious," she mocked. When she suddenly leaned in closer, he couldn't help taking in a deep sigh when her breath blew across his face. It felt warm and the heat in his lower stomach shot up to his face momentarily.

"You are treading on dangerous ground Woman," he threatened, implying far more than he had originally intended. He hadn't meant for his voice to sink an octave, for it to come out breathy yet growling, he hadn't meant to sound so…

"You're threats are always empty," she assured with a wide smile. "I know better than to take you seriously anymore." This word banter was getting the better of him; he was no good at it. Why couldn't she just be straight forward? He didn't understand her. And most importantly, why was she _still_ straddling him?

He sighed, defeated. "What do you want?" he asked and her expression softened at his honest inquiry. He really was silly, she thought. As always, he was thinking far too deeply into everything, wearing himself out in the process.

"You think too much," she whispered and, though she _was_ taken aback, she was not surprised by her own sudden course of action. She wasn't an idiot; she didn't lie to herself like so many other people. She knew when she was attracted to someone, when she liked someone.

He was lucky she was so too, because if she was anything like him they would having been dancing around the subject forever.

Leaning down, she only momentarily caught his widening green eyes before she captured his lips between her own. He stiffened and took in a quick breath, obviously nerved. He didn't have the strength to object for very much longer though and within seconds he had given up completely. He didn't really know what was going on, but his body seemed to understand, so for the moment he shut his mind away in a dusty corner of his head.

It wasn't anything harsh or passionate, just soft and fluttering, much like her. He felt very crude against her, she was so soft looking, so fragile, and her lips were much the same. He dared not execute any kind of force against her, afraid of overwhelming her, so he just lay there and let her do the work, only replying when necessary.

Short and sweet, that would be the best way to describe it. He only took the initiative to get a taste of her as she pulled away, her sweet flavor and overwhelmingly sensual, female scent devastating his senses.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he stared up at her curiously, and she smiled slightly. It was a secret kind of grin, one that spoke of undisclosed and furtive desires. What it meant exactly, he could not decipher, but he was suddenly comforted by a sense of calm and… pleasantness.

He could have sworn she was about to say something, her cheeks turning a light pink, when there was a light tapping in the door.

She bounded away from him with the speed he had seen only moments before when she'd done the exact same thing. Getting to her knees, she threw the healing shield back into the air, her face covered in an empty expression, her eyes blank.

She was hiding.

Was she ashamed of what she'd done?

Ashamed of… him?

The thought caused him pain and he sat up quickly, wrapping the blanket around his exposed body before Urahara slid the door open and peaked inside. He was grinning knowingly, but both parties had, or so they thought, hidden any emotions they might have been wrestling with before. Even the redness had drained from their cheeks.

"Glad to see you're up," he opened the door entirely. "And looking good too. I applaud you Orihime; your power is truly amazing." She smiled up at the tall man, but said nothing. "In any case, I'm going to be busy in the underground training area for a while, I'm trying to figure out a way to stabilize the pressure in this area so as to prevent earliers little hollow escapade from happening again." Nodding to Ulquiorra, he addressed him directly. "Harribel is going to assist me seeing as she may have some hollow knowledge that I do not. I'd ask you for your help as well, but it's probably best if you go home and let your siblings know you're alright, they're worried sick I'm sure." Turning to Orihime, he smiled wider. "Please make sure Mr. Cifer gets home safely once you're done there. I have some clothes," he held out a pair of slacks, a sweatshirt, and a pair of sandals, "for our patient to wear home whenever he feels up to it." Setting the garments down on the floor, he sent them one more flashy smile before waving goodbye and shutting the door.

**ooooooooooooooooooooo**

Took a little longer than usual, I know, sorry. The internet here is complete and total crap, I get kicked off every five minutes, literally. Very frustrating.

Woo, Ulquihime. This relationship is moving along a bit faster than what I usually write, but I think it's okay; besides, no one wants a whole _ton_ of awkwardness before the relationship and then a _ton more_ while they're _in_ the relationship. I'll just go for the latter here I guess. Either way, that should be enough to concrete this as being a Ulquihime fic yes? For those of you who I know were doubting… besides, their relationship is critical to the plot.

Hmmm, what's going on with Harribel? Urahara is certainly up to something, no? But he always is isn't he… Probably be more Grimmjow/Ichigo interaction next chapter too, and I need to fit some IchiRuki in there somewhere, people are going to think it's GrimmIchi, lol!

What was up with that hollow bitch slapping Ichigo? Weird huh…?

I LOVED writing the first part, when Ulquiorra totally exploded. Yeah, wrote that with you in mind Rob, figured it might make up for the fluff at the end seeing as you're only reading it for the anti-romance parts. Hopefully it was graphic enough for you.

For those of you who _aren't_ my brother, expect more Ulquihime to come, for I love writing about them!

Lot's-o-love!

Toodles!


	8. Your Secrets Will Taunt Me

**The Definition of Love**

_"Little supernovas in my head_  
_ Little soft **pulses** in my **dead**_  
_ Little souvenirs and **secrets** shared_  
_ Little off guard and **unprepared**_

_ I was never **good enough** to find_  
_ I was never **bad enough** to mind_  
_ In the middle I will do my best_  
_ Take me in your arms and leave the rest_

_ I will give you anything to_

_ Say you want to stay, you want me to_  
_ Say you'll never die, you'll always **haunt** me_  
_ I want to know I **belong** to **you**_  
_ Say you'll **haunt** me"_

_**Say You'll Haunt Me - Stone Sour**  
_

**Chapter 8: Your Secrets Will Taunt Me **

"Ulquiorra?" Lilynette poked her head around the corner of the living room when the front door opened. She was wearing one of Grimmjow's big sweatshirts (she was cold and didn't want to go upstairs) and a pair of red pajama pants. The husky puppy was held firmly in her arms.

Glancing up at her tiredly, the fourth didn't say anything as he held the door open for his "escort" to enter. And so, despite not having been verbally invited, Orihime entered the hollow family home for the second time.

Dashing out to the front door, Lilynette smiled gratefully at the sight of her older brother, but just as suddenly her expression turned to an angry frown.

"Where have you been?" she questioned fiercely. "Grimm and I have been worried sick, and Nel's been throwing a fit all night. She finally fell asleep two hours ago, but seeing as it's _only_ four in the morning, I suppose that wasn't _that long_ at all!" The green eyed man didn't reply, just blinked at her once before shutting the door behind his redheaded counterpart.

He was pretty positive that the sixth had not been worried sick, and that Nel was probably whining more over the loss of Harribel than of him. Too bad Starrk wasn't there; at least then the younger of their family wouldn't be left in the hands of… _Grimmjow_.

"And why's she here?" Lilynette was being awfully rude. Why hadn't Grimmjow made her go to bed?

As if on cue, the blue haired teenager rounded the corner, a bag of potato chips in his hands. Atop his head sat a small kitten, curled up and snuggled quite nicely in the nest of his hair, sleeping. And by the look on his face, he'd just woken up as well. Probably been snoozing on the couch again.

Popping a chip into his mouth, Grimmjow narrowed his cat-like eyes at them suspiciously. "So… you two have any idea what the fuck is going on?" Orihime glanced up at Ulquiorra, but he was as empty as always, hands in his pockets. "Cuz Harribel disappeared and hasn't even called, no one knew what the _fuck_ happened to _you_, and, well, Starrk is on his way back early, probably flipping a shit."

"Well…" Orihime folded her hands in front of her pajama shorts (Urahara had swiped them from her apartment on the way back to his place after the attack for her to change into), seeming thoughtful. Best to leave out the graphic details, more for her own sanity than anyone else's. She was going to be having nightmares for… for a while after today… "Ulquiorra got, um, bombed with a cero so…"

"A cero?" Grimmjow scoffed, shaking the cat on his head who popped its eyes open suddenly, but didn't move. "And you survived?"

"Hardly," was his even reply.

"If you got blasted by a cero, there shouldn't even have been anything left for Pet here to heal," the blue haired man stated firmly. Sighing, the fourth closed his eyes, trying to stay awake, so he could continue to explain the situation to his dense sibling.

"I was able to… deflect some of it," he replied. Furrowing his eyebrows, Grimmjow looked about to question further, but was interrupted. "I don't know how, but out of force of habit I tried, and low and behold, it did do some good. There was enough of me left afterwards for this woman to heal me."

"Hardly…" she muttered and her comment went unheard.

"Then that blood… on the sidewalk…?" Lilynette appeared uncomfortable, the puppy in her arms quite the contrast seeing as it had dozed off. Placing a reassuring hand on her green head, the fourth attempted to comfort her.

"Don't think about it," he reasoned. Turning back to Grimmjow, he reluctantly continued. "And we don't have any more information on the Gillian either, so don't ask." Nodding with a shrug, Grimmjow turned to head back into the living room.

"C'mon Lilynette," he called and she frowned. "I said you could stay up until Ulquiorra got home. You have school tomorrow and if you don't get some sleep, Harribel is going to grass my ass." Sighing, the younger girl glared after him, but did as she was bid anyway, stomping into the living room.

"I never thought I'd see you two get along so well," Orihime stated with a small smile. The green eyed man shrugged, the bags under his eyes accented when he slumped exhaustedly now that he was no longer putting on a front for his little sister.

Yes, she had noticed, even if _he_ hadn't.

"So I guess I'll go then," she began awkwardly. These were the second set of words she'd said to him since Urahara had interrupted them earlier. It had only taken another twenty minutes to restore him to proper health, though she couldn't aid in his body's natural fatigue. He'd then changed and they'd walked silently to his house.

The first exchange had been when they'd passed her apartment. He had tried to drop her off there, but she'd insisted in walking him the rest of the way home for fear of his condition suddenly deteriorating. Besides, Urahara had insisted she accompany him home.

He'd given in, obviously.

"I am not entirely comfortable with this situation," he stated and she giggled lightly. The taller of the two ignored the patronization; he was used to it to say the least. Smiling, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nothing's going to happen," she assured. "I still have enough strength to get back to my apartment. Besides, I have enough skills to defend myself against late night stalkers." She flexed her muscles like a body builder very unconvincingly. He narrowed his eyes, obviously not believing a word of it even though it was obviously true.

"She can just stay here," turning, both saw Grimmjow leaning against the kitchen bar staring at them. "It's only a few more hours before we have to get up anyway, might as well get as much rest as possible. Besides, I don't think pasty here is going to be able to sleep unless he knows whether you 'made it back safely' or not." The blue haired man grinned wickedly when his younger brother glared at him.

"I could I guess…" It would be more convenient seeing as she was extremely tired, and hungry for that matter. She had the uniform she'd been wearing earlier after all, so she'd be set in the morning. Urahara had had it washed while she was healing Ulquiorra, and had somehow managed to get all the blood out. Must be some kind of magic shinigami formula, or so she assumed.

"It's settled then," Grimmjow stated, slapping his hand loudly on the counter while he stood up straight. "I'll set you up on the couch, unless you want to stay somewhere else instead…" Wiggling his eyebrows and grinning cruelly, the blue haired man didn't give them time to rebuke before turning in his heel and stalking out, humming to himself.

Ulquiorra was pickling with anger.

"Well in that case," she began happily, ignoring Grimmjow's crude comment, "I'll just make myself comfortable." Sliding off her shoes, she left them at the door next to Ulquiorra's, he'd removed them previously. "But first I have to ask," she hugged her stomach and it growled in reply, "do you have any food?"

As if they were communicating, the fourths stomach growled as well. Glancing down, Ulquiorra sighed, apparently finding the habit of having to feed himself utterly tedious.

Orihime laughed.

**oOo**

He felt… empty.

It was one of the strangest sensations he'd ever experienced… and he didn't like it.

Rolling to the side, the orange haired teen stared at the waving curtains breaking up the moonlight filtering in through the window. Renji snored on the floor beside him, though he'd grown used to the noise. Apparently the lieutenant had decided to make the Kurosaki house his permanent residence while in the World of the Living.

He felt all tied up in knots, like his insides were squirming. Yet he couldn't figure out why. Nothing had changed, yet his entire world felt different, foreign. It was a subtle change, one he hadn't noticed till he'd fallen into bed and the entire outside world had been drowned out.

Why was he so nervous?

Rolling onto his back again, the young shinigami furrowed his eyebrows and ignored the way his fingers twitched atop his chest. Something wasn't right, but… he just couldn't come up with anything plausible to explain why his body felt so anxious.

Did it have something to do with the hollow attack earlier?

That must be it he decided. It had been a bizarre attack, so he was paranoid about it happening again. That had to be the only explanation. He knew himself better than even some of the highest ranking shinigami, and this reason was… credible… maybe?

He wasn't going to get any sleep at this rate…

**oOo**

Orihime cocked her head and sighed. She supposed the meal would suffice considering it was four in the morning, but… it could really use some pickle juice. Or maybe a topping of mayonnaise and some gravy…

"Is your cereal not adequate?" Snapping her gaze up from the bowl, she raised her eyebrows high in response to his question. His piercing green eyes were just that, only more exhausted than usual. How was he even going to make it through school tomorrow?

"No, it's fine," she replied quietly. A little bland perhaps, but fine nonetheless. Lifting the metal spoon to her mouth, she ignored the empty taste of the plain old regular corn flakes. At least their slight sogginess added an interesting texture. "So…" she swallowed, "how did you like the first day of school, aside from, you know, being… blown up and… everything…" She didn't know how to word it, it wasn't pleasant to think about, but referring to it so immaturely allowed her to conjure up a more vague image… if even _that_ were possible…

"Boring," he stated shortly. She waited for him to elaborate, but that was apparently too much to ask this early in the morning.

"That's too bad," she continued. "I always liked school. Learning is fun, and I figure I might as well take advantage of learning from those more experienced than I." Ulquiorra resisted the urge to pause in his consumption of the soft provisions. Learn from someone more experienced than himself? Were it a year ago, he would have found the thought of learning from mere humans completely sordid, but now…? Well he kind of felt the same way, there were only a select few that he turned an ear too, and even that was only occasionally.

There was one though that he just couldn't ignore. And she sat right beside him, muttering on about nonsense as per usual.

"I find that I can learn nothing from others of your kind," he rebuked, his voice steady and emotionless. "Urahara informed me that my intellect was of higher than average caliber, most of the things that will be taught in those classes I already know."

"You're so elitist," she commented. "You know, I've learned over the years that you can always learn something from someone, everyone has something to offer. But I kind of had to get information wherever I could, it was kind of lonely, so I try to-"

"Lonely?" he stared hard at her, his green eyes slightly skeptical. "How can someone of your social prowess know the meaning of loneliness?" It seemed very out of place that she would even know the gist of the word. She had, from what he could tell, grown up with people around her all the time. She had more friends than he could count, and some of them had even risked their lives to rescue her.

She could not possibly know loneliness…

She cocked her head to the side curiously, "Not know the meaning?" she was baffled by his question. "Well everyone is lonely sometimes," she continued. "I mean, when my brother died and I had that empty apartment all to myself, I thought I'd be lonely for the rest of my life, but then I met Tatsuki and I knew I wasn't so alone anymore… I never told you about that did I?" He still stared at her curiously. "I don't have any family anymore. I guess I just assumed that you knew since everyone else does." She shrugged.

"You live alone?"

"Yup!" she smiled wide. "My brother ran off with me from our abusive parents a few years after I was born, and then he died when I was really little," she took a quick breath. "Actually it was because of him that I learned about hollows. He became one and then Ichigo and Rukia had to come save me, it was terrible, he tried to eat me, but I know that-"

"How can you speak so imperturbably about such things?" she was surprised by the haste of his question. He sounded confused… again. "You have obviously suffered great losses and trauma in your short life, yet you show no signs of suffering?"

"Suffering?" she scratched her head. "Well… what was I supposed to do? Ignore the world? What fun would that be?" she laughed lightly. "I never knew my parents, not really, not anything that I can remember," she shrugged, "and it took me a long time to get over my brother's death, and it was… miserable when I saw him as a hollow and how he wanted to… _devour_ my soul, but I know he's in Soul Society now, thanks to Ichigo and Rukia, so why should I be sad?" She smiled. "Yeah, it's lonely sometimes, but I always have the hope that when I get up in the morning, my friends will be waiting just around the corner." Her eyes softened. "Maybe that's why I cherish them so much," she flashed him a slight smile, "I know what it's like to lose the people you love, so I try to spend as much time with them as possible."

Pushing his food away, Ulquiorra felt suddenly very… guilty. And dirty. And he was once again loathing himself. This woman had lost her entire family, seen them turn into monsters, yet even when she'd been assured of her friend's deaths, by him no less, she'd managed to find hope? He'd been the one to try and beat her hope out of her, yet he had failed. Now he understood why.

If she could live such a positive life after suffering so much loss, he had never stood a chance against her resolve. He had underestimated her. She would not break that easily. Not until every person she loved was wiped off the face of the earth would she give in, and even then she would rise again.

How did she do it?

He had been without anyone his whole life, at least as far back as he could remember. Even when he'd met other hollow who'd wanted to serve him, he'd rejected them in favor of being alone. Yet this woman, after knowing the pain of losing people dear to her, had persevered. He'd never lost anyone he'd cared for, if he'd ever cared for anyone at all, yet he had assumed he knew more about loneliness than she? Perhaps he knew more about being _alone_, but he now realized that he had never touched the definition of true loneliness.

One had to know what it was like to be surrounded by people that loved you to know what loneliness was. And he had tried to drive her to that place once again in Hueco Mundo. What… kind of monster had he been? And how had he managed to change so much in only a year that the very concept disgusted him?

He still didn't know what it was like to know loss, he didn't claim to have friends, and he most certainly didn't love anyone. He was ignorant.

So why did the thought of going through what she had terrify him? How could he even begin to understand? Who could he possibly lose that would drive him to that… emotional pinnacle? He could barely comprehend what few feelings entered his being as it was. Did he ever want to be in a situation where that much pain could string him up in the blink of an eye?

It sounded like an awfully big risk… and she took it every day.

"And that's why I like school too," she smiled wide. "The way I figure it, life, at least as a human, is short, so why not get to know as many people as possible and learn as much from them as you can? Everyone has something to offer, everyone has had different experiences. That's why I can be happy, because I know I'm living my life the best way I know how."

"You, Woman," his voice was quiet, "are an enigma." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Every day that I interact with you, you do nothing but confuse me further." Was he… angry? "You say you cherish your friend's lives, yet here you sit with me, the very person that tried to take that away from you." He wasn't angry at _her_ she realized. He was angry at himself.

"I do cherish them," she replied with a slight smile. "I cherish all life. I know how easily it can be taken away, so I make an effort to appreciate all of it. I do truly believe that everyone deserves a second chance," she giggled lightly, "or a third or fourth one, in your case." It had meant to be a joke, but by the hurt that flashed through his gaze, she knew she should have kept her mouth shut.

"Isn't… being around me the opposite of 'cherishing life?'" he was bitter, beyond bitter. "The fact that I tried to destroy it, shouldn't that make you cross with me? My views oppose yours, I do not 'cherish' such fruitless things, yet you make an effort to save my own life."

"Well you're living aren't you?" she knew it was a second grade answer, but maybe that was what he needed.

"That's a little technical isn't it?" he replied monotonously. "And if you are using that argument, why did you… cry at my death? And why do you cherish your shinigami friends? They are not technically living."

"Life is a figurative term," she replied shortly and to the point. "You have always been living in my eyes. Just because you didn't have a heartbeat doesn't mean you weren't living. You had thoughts, and emotions," he was about to object, "whether you liked it or not," but was cut off. "So I knew that, even though our views clashed, you were only confused and needed some guidance." This comment obviously offended him and she shrugged. "Well would you go around killing people now without even thinking it through?" he narrowed his eyes at her. "You threatened to end my life numerous times, could you bring yourself to do that now?

"Besides, if I lived hating everyone that took another life, I would be living the life of a hypocrite. Almost all my best friends have taken at least one life, and if I forsook each of them for that, I'd be contradicting myself over and over again."

"Your belief system is contradicting to begin with."

"That's where you're wrong," she smiled slyly. "You see, I have a secret weapon." His mouth twitched and she wondered what could possibly be going through his head. "It's something that not a lot of people have. And I don't mean the ability to turn back time." He did not find her little joke humorous. "I have the power… to forgive."

"Forgiveness?" he scoffed. "Is that why you are able to sit here so comfortably with me?"

"Yes." He prickled with anger.

"I do not understand," he was obviously having a very difficult time with this.

"Exactly," she continued. "And that's why it's so easy for me to forgive you. You _don't_ understand, so I know you're still learning. You were confused when I first met you, and you still are. But the fact that you chose to be a human instead of a hollow proves that you're _beginning_ to understand. And so if you're willing to try, I'm willing to give you another chance."

"How absurd," he was tired of her assuming so much about him, like she'd known him her entire life.

"Is it?" she giggled. "You obviously care about what I _think_, if nothing else, so that's better than before. Otherwise you wouldn't have been _so_ embarrassed earlier." His face burned crimson when she brought that one up. "You're becoming more human _every_ day, whether you like it," she pointed a finger at him, "or not."

"You are intolerable."

"You _like_ it," she teased and shoved another spoonful of soggy cereal into her mouth.

"Is that what I am then?" Why was he still so irritated? Jeez, she was just going to stop talking to him at this rate. Somebody needed to go to bed. "Some little experiment you get to watch progress? Some project you have taken upon yourself? Because if that is how you feel then please withdraw, I have no need of your assistance." She frowned, where was this coming from? "And I would appreciate it if you would halt in the charades; they do nothing but stress me."

She cocked her head to the side. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Is it not obvious?" Not even he understood why he was so mad, he just… was. First he'd felt guilty, now he felt used… and _hurt_, of all things. Yet he couldn't figure out why. He just knew it had something to do with _her_; she was the one inflicting this upon him. As if he were some… "lab rat" for her. He didn't want her pity or her help, he was fine without her.

"No, not really," now she was getting annoyed. It took a lot to get on her nerves, she was very patient most of the time, and generally played the role of the bigger person by ignoring most transgressions laid against her. But he was constantly accusing her of the most horrendous things, things that were the exact opposite of her character.

Like he was expecting it from her because…

Because he obviously felt he deserved to be treated as such by her.

Why couldn't he just get it through his head that none of that mattered anymore?

"You do things to purposefully aggravate me, for example… what you did earlier," his face reddened. "I don't want to be some pity story you picked up off the street."

"Oh my **god** Ulquiorra," she face palmed and shook her head. "You really need to get it through your head that I'm _not_ out to get you. I don't want revenge and I'm _not_ messing with your emotions to try and get it, or because I think it's funny to watch you 'squirm.' I'm not that spiteful, trust me. Revenge is just something that doesn't fit into my character."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just wanted to?"

"Why would you want to?"

"Ughaaa!" she was so frustrated, "this conversation is going around in **circles**!" Taking a deep breath, she held back another groan. She had to find her patience, she would get it through his head if it was the last thing she did. Leaning back, she closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"It wouldn't be if you'd give me straight answer." She was so vague, and nothing she ever said made any sense. She'd confused him since the day he'd met her, thus he felt their relationship would continue forever with his wits at end.

"I _am_ giving you straight answers," she replied evenly, her calm returning. "You just don't like them because it's not what you want to hear." He glared at her, a few more of his nerves snapping.

"You are right, they are not what I want to hear," she crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to continue, her lips tight. "I _want_ you to be angry with me; I _want_ you to hate me! Yet you seem to be doing the exact opposite. It makes. No. Sense."

"Nothing makes sense Ulquiorra," she started, her voice softening. "Why is anything the way it is?" she shrugged. "There are no absolute answers to anything, so why ponder over something you'll never understand? All I know is that my feelings are telling me to do the opposite of hating you, so that's what I'm going to do. Thinking about it only makes everything more complicated."

"Emotions like that are what makes things complicated."

"No, they make things easy."

There was a pause in their conversation and Orihime took a deep, calming, _invigorating_ breath before continuing.

"Listen Ulquiorra," they were never going to get _any_ sleep at this rate. "I acted the way I did today not because I thought it through and decided it was the best course of action. I just… did. And I liked what I did. I can't say what you felt, but I know that hating you is… the last thing I want to do."

"How can you be so certain yet know so little?" his shoulders slumped and she cracked another smile.

"I don't know," she shrugged and he sighed. "But I'm willing to go with it if you are. You know, just 'go with the flow?' But you're not the 'go with the flow' kind of person are you?"

"No." She laughed again, the high pitched tones echoing around the kitchen like chimes. He enjoyed the sound, and no matter how aggravating she was, when she was laughing, he felt more at ease. It sounded so honest, her mirth, thus he felt blessed that she shared such things with him. His head told him he didn't enjoy her company in the least, but his "heart?"

Well it was saying otherwise.

"Well how about this," she continued smartly. "I'll make an effort to… think things through more thoroughly if you try to _not_ do so. Maybe then we can meet on equal ground."

"And where would that leave us?"

"Hmm," she tapped her chin thoughtfully, "I suppose it could be anywhere." He looked _very_ unenthused. "_But_, like I just said, I'll try to give you more direct answers. I happened to have liked what went on earlier, but the final decision is on you." She felt her heart tighten. She had convinced herself that his feelings were… rather obvious. But what if she'd been wrong? That would be… depressing…

But she'd get over it. She wasn't "in love" with him or anything, though her little crush had sprung up much faster than the one she'd had on Ichigo. And generally she didn't just develop feelings for anyone. She much preferred having friends to significant others, thus romantic feelings were generally in the back of her mind, but this time around it had been… well she'd known right away that friendship wasn't what she was pursuing here, though she would settle for it in the end if that was all it was to become.

"I do not know," he stated quietly, a slight pinkness again rising to his cheeks at the mention of their little foray earlier that evening. "You attacked me so suddenly, how was I even supposed to comprehend anything?"

"I did not _attack_ you!" she flopped back against her chair and shook her head. "Gosh, you make it sound like I'm some kind of… _molester_ or something." Crossing her arms once again over her chest, she stared at him disapprovingly.

"That's what it seemed like," he stated and she gaped, her eyes widening. "I was not strong enough to hold you back; you took advantage of my weakness." Her mouth opened and closed in shock, her face resembling that of a fish.

"You're… so mean…" she pouted her lips, "Most people would have called that romantic you know!" She'd thought it was! But apparently they're opinions differed, as they always did it seemed. "But I guess if that's how you feel…"

"I said that was how it seemed, not how I felt," he cut in. "If you remember, I said that I did not know how I felt." Sighing, Orihime sank in her chair until she'd slid off it completely, her toes touching the cold floor.

"You make an awful lot of work for me," she stated grumpily as she stood. He watched her every move with those intense green eyes, and she smiled at the scrutiny of his gaze when he leaned back in his chair. "I guess we'll just have to repeat the whole scenario and see how you feel after that," Cocking her head to the side, she shook her head good-humoredly.

Gulping silently, Ulquiorra watched her from across the table, his gaze narrowed. The way she flipped her hair over her shoulder until it had accumulated entirely on the left side. The playful way her silver eyes glittered in the dim light, and how she casually waltzed her way over to his side. Her shorts were really rather _too_ short, allowing him a luscious view of her long, slender, slightly tanned legs. Her hips rocked back and forth seductively, though he doubted she knew this. But she had been extremely blessed with an avid amount of natural curves, and he hadn't noticed how much he appreciated them until currently. Her tank top was fitted, and it allowed one to truly appreciate how gifted she was.

And she was interested in him?

She blushed as his gaze drifted up her entire form, finally settling once again on her eyes. She truly was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Long, luscious hair, curves galore, and a stunning face to match, one that could produce a mind altering smile. Any man would have been astounded that such a woman had taken a liking to him, and he was even more amazed by this considering how she should hate him.

It made absolutely no sense, yet there he sat, her orange locks brushing his cheeks as she leaned dangerously close to his face.

At least he had enough strength to stay composed, something any other lesser man would have struggled with.

"You're not nearly as uncomfortable this time," she whispered, her lips releasing breathy bursts of air to dance across his mouth. Yes, he was more composed this time, but the heat had returned to his lower abdominal regions and was pulsating throughout his entire being. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled as much of her mesmerizing scent as humanly possible, closing his eyes only momentarily as he tried to keep his breathing under control.

"You gave me a warning this time around," he replied darkly, that deep, growling voice he'd accidentally released before making another appearance, again quite unexpectedly, "which I'd appreciate in the future." She smiled, a stunning show of glittering white teeth.

"So you're assuming this is going to happen again?" her voice was as soft as a feather's, breathy and seductive, to him at least, though, again, it was probably quite unintentional on her part. Combined with her rapid breathing and it only caused the heat running through his system to spread like a current of wildfire, the burning setting his mind aflame.

"It's a little slow in coming currently," he ground out, staring her straight in the eyes, that fire inside him flaring up, causing the hair on the back of his neck to prickle. The longer she stood so close to him, the more tortured his body felt. It was doing its best to drag him closer to her, but he kept it in check, even as it screamed.

But he'd keep it prisoner in the flames to _burn_ before he'd allow himself to lose control. For if he did, she'd see in him the real monster he was. He didn't want her to witness that side of him; the winged demon he knew resided somewhere in the depths of his soul.

Never again.

_Ever_.

Her pink lips brushed his and he leaned forward, their noses caressing. He could feel her take a deep breath, her eyes closing. He did the same, allowing what he'd always depended on, his truth tellers, his sight, to be rendered momentarily useless.

Her eyelashes fluttered against his eyelids as their foreheads leaned together. Had she had her eyes open, she'd have seen a pained expression cross his face. It had only been seconds, but to him it felt like an agonizingly long time. Her lips, her breath, her touch, he _needed_ them, but she was teasing him, unintentionally or not.

He wanted her, to rub his hands across her skin, to grip her hair in his hands and feel the soft strands between his fingers, to feel the curve of her breasts beneath his palms, the thoughts were tantalizing and he cursed his horrible human body causing him so much pain.

Although, even if he had still been a hollow, he probably would have been in much the same situation by this point. Panting with lust he didn't know how to describe. It was dirty and refreshing at the same time, something he knew would haunt his dreams for-

"Gah!" –_forever_ seeing as he would now _never_ get the chance to **_stifle_** it. "What the shit?" With rapidity most unwanted, the air between them turned cold, the heat vacuumed from the area when that _insufferable_ woman bounded away suddenly, her eyes wide and mouth dropped open.

"Grimmjow!" she gasped.

"_Grimmjow_," Ulquiorra growled lethally.

"I leave for, like, a half an hour and you two are all over each other?" he was gaping. "Holy fuck, I don't want to know what went on in Hueco Mundo when you guys were alone all the time!" Gray eyes widening, Orihime blanched in disbelief, stunned that the blue haired man could imply such things.

Ulquiorra was not however, and unless the sixth cleared the room quickly, he was in for the beating of a lifetime.

"We weren't… all _over_ each other," the Woman defended lamely, her face as red as a tomato. "We were just… just…"

"On the verge of making out?" Grimmjow guffawed rudely. "And here I thought green eyes was a complete prude, but he's getting more action than I am, and finer ladies apparently." She blushed more deeply at his uncouth compliment, but Ulquiorra didn't find the situation at all amusing. "Though that wouldn't be the case if Harribel would let me out of the house once in a while…" he muttered, obviously delusional about the women he thought he could attract.

"Your timing is impeccable," the fourth snarled, his eyes a deadly shade of homicidal green.

"Yeah," he smiled sadistically and sat down at the table across from them, "I'm pretty good at that." Both males bristled at each other. "Wait until Kurosaki hears about this, he'll be… _so_ happy."

"Don't tell him," the Woman rushed suddenly and Ulquiorra shifted his gaze to stare at her. "_Please_ Grimmjow," she glanced back at the fourth, aware of the questioning look in his emerald gaze. "I just… he isn't comfortable with you guys here anyway, and I don't want to cause any drama. Do you understand?" The inquiry was directed more towards Ulquiorra than Grimmjow.

"Secrets huh?" the blue haired man sat back thoughtfully. "Seems pretty sneaky, didn't know you had it in you Pet." It was obvious that she was distressed, though it was up for grabs about what. Grimmjow's sudden entrance, keeping secrets from her friends, or the need to explain to Ulquiorra why she wanted to keep the secrets to begin with, all plagued her mind though the last was what she was most concerned about.

"There is nothing to be kept secret," the fourth decided suddenly, his gaze leaving the Woman, its depths empty and emotionless. Standing, albeit too quickly, the dark haired man snapped into action, his figure unintentionally slamming the chair back under the table before he stuffed his hands in his pockets and left the room. Staring after him silently, both remaining occupants had dropped their jaws.

"Well that pissed him off," Grimmjow stated as he turned back to face the orange haired woman. She let out strangled moan and jammed the heels of her hands into her eyes, sinking to a crouch, her orange hair wiping the floor.

"_Grimmjow_!" she groaned accusingly, desperately.

"What?" despite his defensive reply, the sixth did feel party responsible. "It's not my fault…" he muttered and crossed his arms over his chest sulkily.

**oOo**

"Don't sit there," Ichigo grumbled, his school bag slung over his shoulder. Grimmjow grinned wickedly up at him, glad to see the pulsating vein throbbing in the strawberries forehead. That shinigami woman, Rukia, sat next to him, snickering.

"I do believe I have free choice to sit wherever I please," he rebuked and shrugged. "And since I've been forbidden to kick the shit out of you, I'm just going to annoy you in any way I know how." Ichigo was practicing vast amounts of self control, his white knuckled hands strangling the handle on his bag. "Besides," the sixths face dropped, "Ulqui-emo took my seat." Glancing back, both noted that Ulquiorra now sat directly behind Ichigo's original seat, headphones plugged onto his ears, book open atop the desk.

In all honesty, the shinigami were very surprised to see the green eyed man in class at all. They'd had a full view of his "accident" the day before. Orihime must have worked her butt off. Actually it showed that she had, there were large bags under her eyes and she appeared severely drawn. Ulquiorra, though composed, did sport the bags as well, but none dared comment. There was something about the stiffness of his posture that made him look pricklier than the day before.

"Then take _his_ seat," Ichigo turned back to Grimmjow, his face set in a deep frown.

"Oop, there's the bell," the sixth shrugged. "Better take your seat Kurosaki, before teach gets irritated and you get suspended." Glaring lethally down, Ichigo did his best to only _imagine_ strangling his rival. "Besides," Grimmjow continued to instigate as he wrapped a long arm around Rukia's shoulders, much to her surprise, and pulled her closer to him, "me and Ms. Kuchiki have some catching up to do, you know we didn't always get along so well." Staring at the petite woman, Ichigo was annoyed when she only shrugged, a shy smile gracing her lips.

Sighing, the younger shinigami admitted defeat and rounded the chairs in the back before plopping down next to Orihime. He continued to bristle when Grimmjow succeeded in making friendly conversation with both Chad and Renji.

He'd have to be _much_ earlier the following day.

Orihime watched the exchange with amusement and laughed in her head at the way Ichigo was becoming so territorial of his friends. What would his reaction have been had she mentioned her and Ulquiorra?

Not that there was anything to talk about. Apparently he was still very peeved at her, as had been apparent all morning when he'd left before she'd woken up and gone to extra lengths to both ignore her and stay as far away from her as possible. It was childish, but it still bothered her.

Glancing down at her desk suddenly, Orihime found a white triangle of paper leaning against her right arm. A note from Tatsuki. Glancing up, the redhead smiled at her best friend, though it quickly dissolved into a frown at the sight of the black haired woman's concerned eyes.

Opening the note, she clicked a pen into working order as their teacher ordered the class to shut their mouths.

**_"I heard what happened from Renji, are you alright? You look upset, but that hollow guy looks okay. What's wrong?"_**

Sighing, Orihime put her pen to paper. She considered lying, telling Tatsuki that she was only exhausted from the night before, but she really wanted to vent to someone, to try and brainstorm a solution for her current problem. Plus, she'd been more distant than before since the war, and building her relationship back up with her best friend was one of her top priorities.

_"Meet me under the big tree at lunch and I'll tell you everything."_

**oOo**

"Okay, so what's up?" Tatsuki crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the large tree sitting in the courtyard. A few students eating their meals were seated nearby, but not close enough to hear, and the rest of their friends had retreated to the roof. They were accustomed to Tatsuki and Orihime sometimes going off by themselves, so no one questioned their disappearance.

"I did something really stupid," the redhead whined and sank into the grass, her gray eyes downcast. Cocking one eyebrow, the black haired woman followed her friend down. She wasn't entirely shocked at Orihime's admission, she was prone to acting rashly, but by the distressed glint in her eyes, this wasn't just another ice-cream/oven accident.

"It can't be that bad," Tatsuki tried to comfort, but when Orihime glanced back up, it appeared that it really was "that bad."

"I can't believe I said it though," she put her face in her hands. "It was so thoughtless, and now he's really mad at me. But I didn't mean it the way he thought I did! I just know that it's too early to drop this on Ichigo, he's already paranoid as it is. I mean, did you see his face when Grimmjow started talking to Renji and Chad? He would _flip_ if he knew about this! But when I said we should keep it a secret it came out wrong, like I was ashamed of being with him or something. I mean he didn't even want to sit next to me in class and-"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down Orihime," her black haired friend took the others hands in her own. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Who… are you with? Are you dating someone?" Tatsuki wouldn't really be that surprised if she was. The guys in their class were finally reaching the age where they'd appreciate her physique, thus Orihime had acquired a few more crushes in the last two days.

"I don't know!" the redhead cried in frustration. "Things were going so good, and then Grimmjow… and then he got _so_ mad…"

"Wait, are you dating Grimmjow?" Glancing up suddenly, Orihime was surprised by the haste that Tatsuki's questioned was aired. Furrowing her eyebrows, the redhead considered the worry that had momentarily crossed her friends face. It wasn't worry for Orihime's wellbeing though…

"No," the curvier of the two replied. "Would it… not be okay if I were?" A smile spread to the redheads lips as her friends face went momentarily blank, her brown eyes widening only slightly. "Do you _like_ Grimmjow…?

"Wh-what? No I don't like Grimmjow!" Her cheeks had flushed and Orihime giggled.

"Oh my _gosh_!" the redhead exclaimed. "Tatsuki likes a _boy_? This is _so_ amazing!" The taller of the two's smile only continued to widen. "But he's such a prick? Well, I guess if you like that type, but you should know that-"

"Orihime, focus, we are not talking about me here, remember?" Face dropping, the addressed quickly realized she'd been sidetracked. "And I've only known him two days, so no, I don't like him." Her blushing contradicted the statement greatly, or so Orihime took note of.

Sighing, both girls returned to the previous topic of discussion.

"This isn't about Grimmjow," the redhead continued. "It's about Ulquiorra." The darker haired of the two raised her eyebrows and waited. "Well, I did a few stupid things last night. I don't regret _all_ of them, but I think the whole thing could have been handled… better."

"What… exactly is going on between you two? Even before now you two seemed…?"

"You know when I was in Hueco Mundo?" Again, Tatsuki's eyes widened slightly, Orihime never talked about that. "Well, he was the one that was in charge of kidnapping me and taking care of me, you know, feeding me and… well that's pretty much all he did. We talked sometimes, but mostly he just asked me questions about… about hearts and… things… but that's all beside the point!" Taking a determined breath, she sustained. "Well, last night, you know what happened to him, and after I finished healing him I might have…"

"Might have…?"

"I don't know where it came from Tatsuki! I mean, I didn't even know I felt that way about him until… well until yesterday! I mean, I was upset when things… went down during the war, but I hadn't realized I was _that_ attached to him. And he was so mortified when I hugged him and- and-"

"That's it? You hugged him?"

"He was, eh, naked…"

"Naked?"

"And then I… kissed him… on the cheek…"

"The cheek?"

"And then again on the lips."

"You kissed him twice?"

"And I tried again after _that,_ but then Grimmjow walked in on us!" she was growing near hysterics again. "And then Grimmjow said he was going to tell Ichigo and I said don't because Ichigo will be mad and then Ulquiorra got mad and stomped out of the room. He didn't say anything to me this morning, you know, since I stayed there, and he sat in Grimmjow's seat and… I think he's really mad!"

"… Why would you kiss _him_?"

"That's beside the point!" Huffing, the redhead couldn't believe that Tatsuki wasn't realizing how serious this was! She was still focused on what Orihime had forgotten a long time ago. Well, not _forgotten_, but put aside momentarily.

"That's kind of romantic," the darker of the two grinned. "I mean, he was your captor, you were the prisoner. It's like a story right out of one of those corny romance novels. Bad guy turned good because of _love_."

"Well the ending is going to be a sad one of he _doesn't_ _start talking to me again!_"

"Chill out Orihime," he friend laughed. "I'm sure that if you just try talking to him everything will be fine. Just explain why you said what you did and he'll understand, he doesn't strike me as being the pigheaded type. You probably just caught him on a bad night or something." That was an understatement. "He probably feels like your embarrassed by him or something."

"But I'm _not_; I just… don't want to cause drama…" Rubbing her shoulder, Tatsuki again tried to comfort her distraught friend. "You know how Ichigo would react if he knew…"

"Who cares what Ichigo thinks?" the dark haired girl rebuked. "In all honesty, he needs to get over this whole thing. So does Grimmjow for that matter. There's nothing wrong with you and Ulquiorra… doing whatever it is you were doing."

"I know, I just…" she sighed for what felt like the billionth time. "Well, I'll try talking to him, but it's harder than you think…"

"You'll get it through to him though," Tatsuki assured. The redhead smiled thankfully up at her friend, her gray eyes showing some of their original life.

"Hey, you know," Orihime poked her friend in the side with her elbow as they stood, "If you and Grimmjow hook up, we could go on double dates."

"I don't like him!"

"Yeah, sure…"

"…"

"So… why was Ulquiorra naked?"

**oooooooooooooooooo**

Damn, can't catch a break can they. Silly Grimmjow, always getting caught up in unattractive situations. You know, out of all the characters, I think I like writing his dialogue the best, he's so crude. And Ulquiorra is fun too, mostly because I try to give him a more formal feel. And Orihime's thoughts are fun, she's so silly.

Although again I feel like I've made her too mature or smart. But I feel like she has the potential to be very insightful, especially when it comes to Ulquiorra and his problems. And she's still ditzy with everyone else, but I don't know, whenever those two start talking, she starts being more... real I guess? Is that okay? I like her and I never seem to be able to control what she says, she just kind of.. does, if that makes any sense. If you're a writer you know what I'm talking about, when you have those characters that are out of your control. Makes her seem less shallow, like I said, I hate characters like that.

So... this story is going to mature. I wasn't expecting the feedback about the graphicness from the last chapter that I got, and it totally went over my head that maybe when people read stories in T, they don't expect to read gory stuff. When I think of mature I think of sex so... /shrug

In any case, there will probably be _at least _one, well, "sex" scene to be perfectly blunt, so... You're the readers after all. I think it needs to go to mature, but if a majority of you feel otherwise…? I can't really say personally because I've been reading mature content stories forever and never really thought about it. I always just selected the All Ratings category, lol. Rest assured though, just because the rating is M doesn't mean things are changing, because I know some of you are afraid of that. No one is about to jump anyone's bones or anything. And when I do eventually get to the, uh, "lime" or "lemon" or whatever it is that people call it, it won't be random… pornographic shit for lack of a better explanation (so maybe neither of those terms actually work?). Again, you all must realize by now that plot and lot's of it are my forte, so it's not going to be random… crap, lol. The rating change is mostly for the previous chapter and that first scene that was apparently very disturbing to some readers, but I'm glad the majority of you liked it, lol.

Man, I feel like I'm giving a really awkward birds and bees lecture, HA! I just don't want anyone to misunderstand the motives behind any of the scenes; I like developing deep connections between characters, so no actions they take will be mindless for the sake of entertainment, if you catch my drift.

So... I'm like... a really big GrimmTat fan after this chapter, LOL! Man I'm pulling these pairings out of nowhere. GrimmTat, IsshiBel, it's CRAZY I tell you, lolol.

Hope you liked the chapter.

Love for all!

Toodles.

R&R PLEASE!

Oh, also, I'm probably changing the summary.


	9. The Impossibility of Reconciliation

**The Definition of Love**

_"It **kills** me not to know this but I've all but just **forgotten**_  
_ What the color of her eyes were and her **scars** or how she got them_  
_ As the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping_  
_ Through the valleys of an **aging** face that this world has forgotten_  
_ There is no **reconciliation** that will put me in **my place**_  
_ And there is no time like the present to drink these **draining seconds**_  
_But seldom do these words **ring true** when I'm **constantly failing you**_  
_ Like walls that we just can't break through until we **disappear**_

_ So tell me **now**_  
_ If this ain't love then how do we get out?_  
_ Because I don't know_  
_ That's when she said **I don't hate you boy**_  
_ I just want to **save you **while there's still **something left to save**_  
_ That's when I told her **I love you girl**__"_

_**Savior - Rise Against**  
_

**Chapter 9: The Impossibility of Reconciliation**

She wasn't sure how to approach him. He'd continued to sit away from her for the rest of the day, yet he'd then decided to once again make an attempt to go to the library (since yesterdays endeavors had obviously failed). He knew she lived down this way as well. If he were really trying to avoid her, he wouldn't have come this way.

With these thoughts in mind, the redhead huffed a determined look onto her face and sidled her way up behind him. He had a book shoved in his face and headphones plugged onto his ears. The thought of creeping up behind him and scaring him flashed across her mind, but, noting that it probably wasn't a good idea considering their state of affairs currently, she decided against it.

He didn't know she was there. Remaining in step behind him, she considered the best way to get his attention. There wasn't one though, and with a sigh she sidestepped up next to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, his face straight as an arrow, but didn't say anything. And as if she were just a fly buzzing around his ears, he turned back to his book and ignored her, his headphones still firmly attached to his head.

How very rude.

"_Ulquiorra_," she whined pathetically. Pulling his ipod out of his pocket, the fourth wasted no time in turning up the volume. "C'_mon_!" she continued loudly so as to reach over the music blasting into his ears. "Please stop ignoring me," her fierce expression had turned to a pout. "I'm only trying to apologize…"

"Careful Woman," she couldn't tell if he had heard her or not, "you would not want to be seen walking down the street with me." She glared at him; he was acting like such a child about this. Not that she could say she was surprised. He was only just starting to get a grasp on emotions and a spoiled brat phase had to come and go at some point.

"You are such a child," she stated and he turned to her, his green eyes narrowed. So he _could_ hear her. "First you stomp out of the room, then you ignore me all day, and now you're acting like a total brat."

"Do not speak to me as though I were an infant," he stated calmly, his green eyes flashing. "Secrets are not easily kept, so I am making it easier for you, no secret and there is nothing to worry about."

"You're taking this completely the wrong way," she replied and crossed her arms over her chest. They had paused in the middle of the street now, facing each other, obviously hostile. "I was just trying to make it easier for now, until everyone gets used to the idea of you guys being here, and-"

"Until _Ichigo_ gets used to the idea," he deadpanned and she sighed.

"Okay, yes, Ichigo," she admitted. "He's the one having the most trouble with this, so I'm just trying to ease his nerves a little okay? Is that a crime? He's one of my best friends after all!"

"Why do you care so much what he thinks?" those green eyes were glaring at her. "You cannot please everyone."

"I can try."

"Then you are failing miserably," he spat and turned on his heel, continuing his way down the sidewalk. Frowning, the redhead stared after him for a moment before following, determined to get him to understand.

"This isn't about you Ulquiorra," she began and with a speed she wasn't expecting, he turned on her, his face inches from her own as she skidded to a halt. Eyes wide in surprise, she did her best to hold back a gasp.

"If this is not about me then I do not know why you are trying so hard to fix it," he really was mad. She hadn't realized how much what she'd said had affected him. "If it does not concern me then leave, you obviously have more important people to think about."

"If I had any sense I would!"

"Then it is too bad you do not have any!"

Silence.

Exhaling through her nose, Orihime balled her small hands into fists and tore her gaze away from him. With a quick turn, she began walking away, her long hair whipping him fiercely across the chest. She was done dealing with his accusations; she didn't have anything to prove to him.

He hadn't expected her to leave. In fact he'd expected her to keep arguing with him. He didn't _want_ to argue with her; in fact he actually understood where she was coming from with the whole situation.

But it made him angry. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to hide. If they were going to be… whatever it was she wanted them to be then he… then he wanted to be able to rub it in everyone's face. The Woman was his and he didn't want to keep it a secret. The world should know, know that if they laid a hand on her he'd rip them to pieces.

He hated secrets. Being sneaky, hiding things, it wasn't something that was normally anywhere near his character. He was blunt and honest, not _secretive_. Reserved yes, but had someone asked him what he'd done the night before… well he wouldn't give them all _those_ details, but he wouldn't have known any better than to be truthful. He didn't like lying; it only made things more complicated.

Though by the looks of it he wouldn't have to worry about that because he wouldn't have anything to lie about.

He understood her being mad, but was she giving up on him? The only other time she'd acted like this was when…

When he'd insulted her directly.

He should have just kept his mouth shut.

"Woman," he growled and followed after her. She didn't turn to him, just kept walking, ignoring him. "Woman!" again, nothing. Mouth tightening into a thin line, he stretched his legs a bit farther until she was within his reach. Grabbing her arm, he was completely taken aback when she flipped around and glared venomously at him.

"Don't touch me," she hissed and shoved him back.

"I did not mean what I said," he tried as she turned to walk away again. Her pace had slowed, but she still refused to face him. "It came out before I could stop it, you have plenty of sense." Sighing, she paused in her march, her shoulders slumping. Narrowing his eyes at her, he realized that she was more distraught than angry. He'd had no intention to hurt her at all, but apparently he'd done more damage than he knew.

"It's alright," she replied shortly, her voice an obvious mask. He could have sworn he heard it crack at the beginning, but she pulled it back into control. She truly was upset.

"I did not mean to upset you so severally," he tried again, what was wrong with her? "Are you… very sensitive to such comments?" The thought had never crossed his mind. That she could be vulnerable to words never even occurred to him, not this vulnerable at least.

"It's stupid," she turned back to him, a sad smile gracing her lips. "You wouldn't want to hear about it." She smiled wider, but it was obviously fake.

"Yes I would," he replied quietly, his emerald gaze meeting her silver one. Taking a step forward, he hesitantly brushed his fingers down her arm, holding her fingertips between his own. "Please tell me."

It's just…" her breath was shaky and she was desperately blinking back tears. "All my life people have said stuff like that. That I'm a ditz or 'too stupid to use a cell phone' or just… plain out mean things. I know I… don't think like everyone else, but it still bothers me. People think I don't hear them, or that I don't understand, but I do…"

"I did not mean it," he stated quickly, squeezing her hand in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "I would never make any kind of comment against your intelligence. I do not understand how people can say things like that; you are obviously of a higher acumen than even myself." Though he was only being honest, it still brought a smile to her face, so he was glad. His heart slowed, he never wanted to see her upset like that again, least of all because of him. It had been an accident, but he was still slightly disgusted with himself.

"It's alright," she assured with an empty laugh. "I just… wasn't expecting _you_ to say something like that… I guess."

"And you shouldn't. It will never happen again," he continued hastily. "I let my… jealously get the better of me. I will practice greater control in the future."

"I thought you didn't waste your time with things as useless as jealously," she teased and took his entire hand into her own, a playful smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. She loved to see him humiliate himself, or so he thought.

"If you would talk less of Kurosaki then I wouldn't have to," he grated, irritation lacing his speech.

"Is that why you're so mad?" she giggled and took his other hand in her empty one. Pulling herself closer to him, he blushed slightly when their chests met. She didn't seem to notice or didn't mind though as she only continued to beam up at him. "Don't worry about Ichigo," she assured. "I don't feel that way about him anymore, promise. Of course I care about him, but not in the same way I care about you."

He blushed more severely at her sentimental words. Women were absurd.

But she… cared about him?

He ignored the way his chest warmed at her admission. She would be the death of him at this rate.

"If you truly want to," he stared straight down into her eyes, trying his best to compose himself, "then I will do my best to keep this a secret. I am no good at lying though, so I cannot guarantee the safety of this disclosure." She laughed again, chimes ringing in his ears.

"That's alright," she sighed dramatically. "If you tell I'll just have to defend you against my friends. Don't worry; I won't let them hurt you." His mouth tightened at this and she laughed some more, her obviously ridiculous plan another minor annoyance she caused in his life.

Silence fell between them and she sighed happily, obviously very content with their current situation. Staring up at him, a silent grin slowly formed on her face. Then a mischievous glint graced her eyes and he stared curiously down at her. Leaning up, she took him by surprise and he leaned back reflexively.

Her face dropped.

"I asked you to give me a warning," he stated calmly, slightly embarrassed by his silly rejection of her affections. He didn't mean to be so detached, but it was hard to reject ones natural instincts.

"Oh stop," she reprimanded with an eye roll. Releasing his hands, she swung them up and around his neck, linking her fingers together behind his head. Momentarily unsure of what to do with his own now cold limbs, he considered the options.

She laughed as his thoughts processed in his eyes, and after narrowing them at her, he resolutely placed her waist inside his white grip, determined to prove he was not entirely incompetent.

But touching her caused his pulse to quicken and his intense gaze bore into her unintentionally, providing her with information that was probably better left unsaid currently. Holding her tighter, he felt the blood begin to pool at the base of his stomach when she blushed.

Leaning down, he was glad when she reciprocated, her nose brushing against his as his hair brushed her cheeks. She was so soft, so alluring, so… feminine. He could feel the curve of her waist beneath his fingertips, the rise of her breasts against his chest. Pulling her closer, he felt the sudden need to engulf her, to envelope her utterly and completely.

And as her breath frolicked across his face, he closed his eyes, taking in her enthralling fragrance. He wasn't completely familiar with all the smells of the human world, but hers was sweet and floral, and down to earth as well, nothing too strong. Nothing that was going to bombard his senses with useless and pointless information. It was just enough to accent what she already had.

And as her lips brushed his, he inhaled deeply, taking in as much of her smell as he could so as to remember it for as long as possible. Her hair, it was-

"Orihime!" –of something that would remain a mystery to him. "Oh, woops." Shrinking away from him, the Woman turned her head, her lips pursed in what he assumed to a silent apology towards him.

"Tatsuki," she breathed. "What's up?" Despite how he had tightened his hold on her waist, she pulled away from him, their bodies separating, leaving him suddenly very cold. Frowning more deeply than usual, he refrained from abruptly strangling the black haired best friend of his female interest. Instead he settled for taking deep, steady breaths, and glaring at nothing.

"Uh, well I was just going to drop by your place," Tatsuki appeared sheepish. "Sorry for irrupting."

"It's okay," the redhead assured. Ulquiorra begged, _begged_, to differ, but settled for merely placing his mouth into a straighter line. If he wanted to keep this woman to himself, he would have to be nice to her friends, even if they did show up at the most inopportune times.

"Well I'm glad to see you guys are getting along again," the thinner of the two women commented. So it wasn't a complete secret then. This woman knew, and so did Grimmjow. The former he didn't care about, the latter irritated him. "Anyway, I just picked up some food and some movies; I thought maybe we could hang out tonight? I, uh, have some stuff to talk to you about." Turning to Ulquiorra, Tatsuki gave him a strangled, awkward frown. "Sorry, but this is like… girl stuff…"

"Of course," he commented dryly and situated his headphones back on his head before sticking his hands in his pockets. Nodding to the redhead once, he turned and sulkily continued on his way to the library.

He could hear them giggling behind him.

**oOo**

So _bored_. Stupid Starrk trying to be like Harribel. Why did he even come back early? There was nothing he could do about what happened anyway. Now he was just wandering around the house telling Grimmjow what to do.

"_Take out the garbage." _

"_Do your homework." _

"_Go get your brother."_

"_Get off the couch." _

It was getting **annoying**!

Sinking farther down on the park bench, the blue haired man watched with a steady glare as Lilynette pranced around the park with a soccer ball and Hueco, the husky puppy. That had been Starrk's last order for him. "Take your sister to the park." Why didn't Ulquiorra ever have to do any of this crap? Oh, that's right, because he's at the library being productive where as the sixth is a "moping bag of skin," or so Harribel said.

Bullshit, that's what it was.

"Stop glaring at us!" Lilynette screamed from across the lot and her brother glared harder. It was her fault he was missing his cat nap, that his Little Monster was basking comfortably in a patch of sun on the carpet while he was sitting on a rotting bench getting sunburned.

The younger girl glared back at him momentarily before commencing in kicking the ball around again.

Grimmjow sighed.

"Ugh, why are _you_ here?" Glancing up, the sixth spotted a patch of orange and scowled. Great, now the shinigami was here too, it was the cherry on top of the cake. Turning away, the Espada considered all the ways he could possibly annoy the strawberry.

"None of your business Bitch," he settled on as Karin and Yuzu dashed across the lot to meet Lilynette. Apparently Kurosaki was on much the same job as he. Figures.

"Don't call me that," he replied shortly.

"I'll say whatever I want," Grimmjow glanced over with raised eyebrows, "… Bitch." Sighing, the redhead pursed his lips and attempted to control his temper. Fighting with Grimmjow would do no good, like Rukia had said earlier that day during lunch, he needed to calm down and let this whole thing go. Grimmjow was only being an asshole because, well because he was being an asshole too.

Flopping down next to the Espada, Ichigo put his elbows on the back of the bench and watched as his younger sisters joined up with their new friend. Normally they were allowed to go to the park by themselves, but with the hollow attacks being so frequent and their reiatsu being so high, he didn't like to risk it.

"Don't sit there," the sixth commanded and the shinigami glanced over, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

"'_I_ _do believe I have free choice to sit wherever I please_,'" the redhead mocked with a slight smirk. The blue haired man glared at him before huffing and turning away angrily. Realizing that he was going against what he'd just decided to do, Ichigo sighed. "Listen Grimmjow," he started, trying to sound as civil as possible. "Do you even know _why_ we hate each other?"

"Cuz' you're a cock-biting fuck-tard?" the blue haired man offered without even glancing over. He just crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the two girls playing soccer, the third pampering the dog. Clenching his hands into fists, the shinigami took a deep, soothing breath.

"_No_," he ground out. "I'm being serious Grimmjow-"

"So am I."

"-and I've been thinking about it a lot lately," the sixth feigned a surprised expression. "This whole thing between us," Ichigo motioned his finger between the two of them, "really is based on nothing. I mean, the whole reason we even started fighting to begin with is because… well you showed up and started killing my friends, or at least tried to."

"So close too…" the other reminisced and shook his head as if the whole thing were some bittersweet memory.

"But seeing as the war is over, it's probably a good idea to stop being such jerks to each other," Ichigo had the feeling this whole thing wasn't going to work. Damn Rukia. "I mean, our little sisters are friends and everything, so isn't that reason enough to stop acting idiotically?"

There was a pause.

Grimmjow seemed to consider it thoughtfully.

Ichigo raised his eyebrows encouragingly.

…?

"Um…" The blue haired man glanced over at the redhead. "Yeah… _no_…"

"God dammit," the shinigami swore and sat back in his seat, his face dropping into his typical scowl. "Stupid Rukia, I told her this would never work." As if the two could ever get along. They were _nothing_ alike, completely clashing personalities. There was no hope.

"So, is she like your girlfriend or something?"

"What?" the shorter of the two turned to face his rival.

"That Rukia chick, is she your girlfriend?" the sixth said slower. God, that other redheaded shinigami was pretty slow too. If they were all like this then the blue haired man didn't understand how _they_ had possibly lost.

"Rukia, no," Ichigo replied a little too quickly and pushed the blush that had risen to his face back down into his stomach. "She's one of my best friends, I mean, if it weren't for her then I wouldn't have even become a shinigami and-"

"I didn't ask for your fuckin' life story," the other stated and shook his head as if the whole thing were overly tedious. Ichigo appeared completely unenthused. "I don't really get the appeal of those girls though, I mean she so little and small… everywhere. I mean I guess she's cute but…" the sixth shrugged. "Whatever floats yer boat I guess. Orihime though, she's ten times the-"

"You are such an asshole," Ichigo interrupted with an eye roll. Obviously offended about being talked over, the blue haired man looked about to object, but then reeled himself back in, apparently settling for something less offensive.

"That makes two of us," he decided and turned back to stare at the girls.

"Great, two fuckin' peas in a fuckin' pod," the other stated monotonously, sinking farther down in his seat sulkily. Turning to him, Grimmjow raised his hands questioningly.

"Wh-what? What the hell does that even mean?" he asked offensively. "Two peas in a… what the hell is wrong with you?" Ichigo glared at him. "I don't wanna share anything with you, let alone some fuckin' pod," sitting back and crossing his arms, the sixth shook his head. "Get your own god damn pod… fuck…"

"You're an idiot," Ichigo decided, obviously irritated.

"You're a cock-bag."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks Kurosaki. That's what you have your little shinigami friend for." Ichigo held back the sudden urge to punch the other. But then he decided on something cleverer.

"At least I have that option," he smirked, apparently very pleased with himself.

"Fuck you."

"'_No thanks.'_"

"…"

"…"

"Okay, seriously, what the hell is up with that fuckin' pod thing, like-"

"Shut up Grimmjow."

**oOo**

"I still can't believe it," Tatsuki stated as she spread some peanut butter to bread. "I mean, you two are so different. But I guess opposites attract right?" Orihime sighed from her spot across the table. She had her head in her hands, a slight frown gracing her lips.

"Is it really that unbelievable?" the redhead asked, apparently concerned. Glancing up, Tatsuki frowned too when she saw the look on her best friends face. "Do you really think we're that bad for each other?"

"What? No, that's not what I meant," the black haired girl continued hastily. "If anything you two complement each other. He's really… _un_happy all time and you're _always_ happy, so you two balance each other out." The redhead visibly perked up.

"He's not as depressed as you all think," Orihime began. "He just… doesn't express himself very well." Tatsuki rolled her eyes as she bit into the peanut butter sandwich. "It's true!"

"I guess I just don't get what you see in him, he'd annoy me being all serious all the time," the other girl shrugged. "He'd bore me to tears. His _brother_ on the other hand…"

"I knew this is what you wanted to talk about," Orihime giggled lightly. "You never call anything 'girl talk' unless it's something you don't want anyone else to know about. I don't really get what you see in _him_ though, he so… cocky and… _violent_."

"I dunno," the other girl smiled slightly, her eyes drifting up towards the ceiling thoughtfully. "I like his cockiness. His confidence is a really good attribute. And sure he can be an ass, but he's… stylish while doing it." Orihime gawked.

"I can't believe it," the redhead shook her head in awe. "You really, _really_ like him don't you." Tatsuki shrugged shyly and took another bite of her sandwich. "I should have known though. You're such good friends with Ichigo, it would figure you'd be attracted to the bad boy type."

"Just don't tell him," the darker girl finalized. Orihime nodded, indicating that she would not tell _him_. That didn't mean she couldn't tell Ulquiorra and make him do something about it though…

**oOo**

"What's that?" Grimmjow jolted from his seat on the couch, the kitten that had been sleeping on his forehead flying across the room. Luckily it landed on its feet some ways away from the couch. Hair puffed, claws were dug into the carpet, it had a completely shocked look on its face.

Glancing up from his book, Ulquiorra stared out into the kitchen, his head slowly cocking to the side as he listened to the rhythmic ringing echoing around the house. It was high pitched and slightly irritating. It didn't sound as though it was going to let up either. Standing, the younger slowly made his way across the room, fully aware that if the sound didn't halt soon, Grimmjow was going to have a stroke.

"Make it stop!" he commanded irritably and the shorter rolled his eyes. Such a drama queen. He hated it when the sixth got woken up from his naps, he'd be a pain for the rest of the night.

Sliding across the floor of the kitchen, the fourth surveyed the area and found the source of the racket. Sitting in the corner of the far counter was a small black contraption. It was the machine emanating the high pitched disturbance. Walking over, Ulquiorra stared at it quizzically.

It appeared to be the telephone. He knew how they worked, but had never personally used one. When it rang he was supposed to pick it up and greet whoever was on the other line. But who could possibly be calling on them?

Placing his pale hand across the receiver, he clicked the contraption off its base and pulled it to his ear.

"… Hello." Complete deadpan.

"_Oh good, it's you_," she sounded relieved. "_It took me _forever_ to get this number. Of course you guys weren't in the phone book and the operator couldn't help me either. I ended up calling Urahara and getting the number from him which was _really_ embarrassing because he started asking all kinds of nosy questions and-"_

"Why are you phoning me Woman?" This was very odd to him. He'd never talked on a telephone before and that he could hear her voice but not see her face was very disturbing. Still, he supposed he could enjoy the moment, it was _her_ after all.

Too bad Grimmjow had waltzed over to listen at his shoulder.

"_You don't want to talk to me?_" she sounded hurt. "_Well that doesn't matter,_" she recovered quickly. "_I didn't call to talk to you._" Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes, who else could she possibly talk to? "_Well I mean I did,_" he furrowed his eyebrows. "_But it's about Grimmjow so… well whatever. Anyway, is he there with you?_"

"At my shoulder actually." She gasped.

"_**OhMyGosh**_!" she sounded very distraught by this development and the brothers exchanged a shared glance of confusion. "_Can you go somewhere so that he can't hear you? Like, in another room or something?_"

"He would follow me."

"_Then make him go away!_" she exclaimed. "_Shoo_ _Grimmjow, psst, get out of here!_" She was yelling into the phone and the fourth held it away from his ear momentarily as her voice was obviously aimed at the sixth. Frowning, the blue haired man got a curious look in his eyes.

"Leave the hearing range of the telephone," Ulquiorra commanded and the sixth frowned more deeply, his feet staying planted in place. "Now." Glaring, the blue haired teen slowly backed across the kitchen and leaned against the counter, out of hearing range, but still in the room, a suspicious glint in his blue eyes. "He cannot hear you," Ulquiorra stated into the receiver.

"_Okay good,_" the Woman sighed happily, "_we don't have much time, Tatsuki will be back soon._" Ulquiorra remained silent, patiently waiting for her to elaborate. "_So, and I know this is, like, _so_ unbelievable, but Tatsuki has the __**biggest**__ crush on Grimmjow._"

Silence.

"Woman, I am not familiar with your terminology." He'd at first taken the term in a literal sense, but that hadn't _made_ any sense, so he could only assume that she had an ulterior motive in using such a word.

"_Gah, Ulquiorra, this is _not_ the time to be clueless,_" she vented and he frowned, hurt by her words. She huffed. "Okay_, it doesn't matter, just… ask Grimmjow what he thinks of Tatsuki._" The fourth was enjoying this conversation less and less by the second, he was not a messenger.

"Ask him yourself," he stated testily.

"_No!_" she cried. "_That would be too suspicious, you have to do it._" That didn't even make any sense. What was she doing, this didn't sound at all safe to him. "_And try to be sneaky about it, you know, stay on the sly._"

"That is not one of my strengths."

"_Well just try okay!_" She was really starting to irritate him. He didn't understand what was going on and she sounded extremely anxious. Was she alright, and what did Grimmjow have to do with all this?

And how was he supposed to get her information in an underhanded fashion?

"Grimmjow," he glanced up at the sixth. His blue eyes popped open, obviously he'd been waiting until he'd come back into the conversation. "What are your thoughts on… Arisawa Tatsuki?" The Woman groaned.

"_Ulquiorra, that was _not_ sneaky!_" she huffed, apparently annoyed with him. But he was irritated with her as well, probably more so. "_You didn't even try did you?_"

"I did my best," he snapped shortly. "I told you it was not one of my strengths yet you insisted on me continuing anyway. If you had wanted it done better then you should have directed me or done it yourself." She sighed, sounding distracted.

"Wait…" Grimmjow cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "…Who?"

"_**Ohmygod**_**,**" she sounded excessively worried now. "_He doesn't even know who she is,_" she whispered, her voice stretching and distraught. "_This is really bad._" Ulquiorra was worried now, she didn't sound alright at all. It did not help that she was not communicating the situation to him. How was he supposed to help her otherwise? "_Oh no, I have to go,_" she whispered, "_Tatsuki's back and if she finds out I called you… I'll see you tomorrow, bye._" There was a click on the line and silence.

Pulling the phone from his ear, Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at it, concerned.

"What was that about?" the sixth asked immediately. The fourth pondered the entire conversation momentarily before setting the receiver back down.

"I do not know," he decided, "but it sounded serious. She was very upset."Grimmjow furrowed his eyebrows. "She was rushed as well. Perhaps I should go make sure everything is alright…" He was feeling more and more uneasy by the second. Yes, he would go see her and get this whole thing straightened out.

"I'll come too," Grimmjow added and bounded towards the door. "Whatever is going on, it has something to do with me." Ulquiorra didn't reply, he could care less what his brother did. Just so long as he didn't hinder the fourths progress in getting to the Woman's apartment.

**oOo**

"Are you sure this is the right one?" Grimmjow crossed his arms and stared at the door quizzically. Unfortunately the fourth couldn't be completely sure, but this was the door she'd almost entered the day before, so it had to be, or so his logic was telling him. And even if it wasn't, it wouldn't matter. He'd go knocking on every door if he had to till he found her.

Raising his white fist, the paler of the two men knocked harshly on the door three times before returning his hand to his pocket and waiting. It wasn't long until a soft padding of feet across the floor was heard on the other side. Door clicking, it slowly slid open.

She gasped.

"What are you two doing here?" she hissed, her grey eyes bulging. She glanced back into her apartment once before turning back to them. Stepping out, she closed the door partway behind her and commenced standing outside.

"You sounded very distressed on the telephone," Ulquiorra started. "And you did not elaborate on your condition. I wish to know what is going on." She pursed her lips and bounced up and down from foot to foot. Her shorts were of the same type she was wearing the other night, her tank top as well, and the fourth was left feeling more distraught than she, though for other reasons.

"I'm fine," she replied quickly. "You guys can't be here," she was desperate. "Please leave, go back home!" Ulquiorra narrowed his green eyes at her, intent on getting to the bottom of this. She was hiding something, and the thought was not comforting.

"Who's there Orihime?" it was her friend, Tatsuki. The Woman visibly paled, her body freezing. Fear had surged through her eyes for a flashing second as the front door opened once again. Turning uncharacteristically slow, the redhead forced an uneasy smile to her face when best friend appeared momentarily shocked. "Why are you two here?" The black haired woman's gaze went from the brothers to Orihime and back again, her surprise turning to suspicion.

"Th-that's what _I_ was asking _them_," Orihime giggled, obviously using force, and turned back to the two, her face dropping. Grimmjow looked about to say something, but Ulquiorra cut in. He wasn't completely slow and the Woman had given him enough time to comprehend the _current_ situation if nothing else.

"We were merely in the area," he started, his face going completely empty in his attempt to lie. It was very difficult to make up something on the fly and he hoped his face didn't betray him. "I knew of the Woman's residence and we… decided to drop by." Was that convincing?

Probably not.

"Oh…" Tatsuki situated her weight to one hip, her shorts and t-shirt attire very similar to the Woman's. But it didn't do anything for the fourth and he was glad to realize only his Woman could pull such reactions out of him, relieved and slightly befuddled. "Well it's nice seeing you guys a guess…" She glanced at the Woman, obviously not convinced, but deciding not to voice as much. Ulquiorra held back a defeated sigh; he'd failed the redhead… again.

"_Yeah_…" Grimmjow added awkwardly and glanced around the area. Silence was their companion momentarily, an uncomfortable, bloated kind. Luckily, the Woman was the type to think well on her feet.

"Well you guys came all the way here to see us," she started, the tension leaving her face. "Why don't you come in and hang out for a bit." The other girl appeared momentarily shocked by the suggestion and glared accusingly at her friend. "We just made some popcorn and were going to watch a movie; you're welcome to join us."

"What movie?" Grimmjow asked quizzically. Apparently the answer weighed greatly on his decision.

"Uh…" Orihime was thoughtful. "It's one of those action ones, you know, lots of fighting and stuff like that." Again, Tatsuki appeared skeptical.

"But you said you didn't-"

"Well I changed my mind!" the redhead blurted shortly as she glanced at her best friend. Apparently momentarily taken aback, the darker girl looked about to object again, but refrained at the last minute. Appearing very sulky and downcast, she kept her mouth shut. "So are you guys staying or not?"

"Well I don't have anything else to do so…" Shrugging, Grimmjow's verdict was decided. Glancing at Ulquiorra, Orihime already knew his answer. He would have said no straight off if he didn't want to. The thought made her smile.

"Cool!" Clapping her hands together, Orihime backed up into the apartment followed by her unhappy best friend and the two men. They closed the door behind them and surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings. It was cozy and a little bare, but overall not unpleasant. They had walked straight into the living area, a couple chairs, a loveseat, and an average sized television to their right, a small table to their left. Straight ahead was a doorway leading into the small kitchen, and to the right was what appeared to be the bathroom door. On the left was another door, closed.

"I'll make more popcorn," Tatsuki stated monotonously.

"Uh, that's okay, I'll do it," the redhead decided. "You made the last batch _and_ ran to the store to get it, so I'll handle this one." Glancing over at the two men, she smiled sweetly. "Make yourselves at home." And with that she turned on her heel and wandered into the kitchen. Shedding his light jacket and shoes, Ulquiorra considered the couches sitting on the right, but shrugged them off as not very appealing. He headed for the kitchen, leaving the other two to their own devices.

She stood on the far end of the room next to a microwave, a box of easy-make popcorn in her hands.

"Would you mind explaining to me what is going on?" he asked quietly as he made himself comfortable leaning against the counter next to her. Obviously she didn't want her friend to hear what had transpired earlier, so he'd make an attempt to be discreet about his questioning.

She jumped at his sudden appearance, but he paid it no mind.

"You scared me," she breathed with a smile as she shoved the flattened bag of corn colonels into the microwave. "I was so surprised when you guys showed up, but this could work I think." He didn't reply and she continued. "Tatsuki's never really liked boys, so when she confessed about Grimmjow I was _so_ shocked. She told me not to tell him though, and you almost blew my cover!" He narrowed his eyes at her; he didn't have the patience to deal with these silly games. But apparently the Woman had enjoyed it. He now somewhat comprehended what had been going on, and was realizing that he'd had no reason to search her out. Still, he didn't regret doing so.

"My apologies," he started, "but you were being too vague and I did not understand what it was you desired me to do." She sighed and shook her head as she pressed the start button the machine.

"Everything is vague to you isn't it?" she muttered and he pursed his lips, but remained silent. "Well it doesn't matter," she turned and beamed up at him, "because now they can talk one-on-one." He really didn't understand the importance of Grimmjow speaking with her best friend, speaking had done nothing for the two of _them _except escalate his annoyance level.

So why _did_ he enjoy talking to her?

Turning back to the microwave, she placed her hands on the counter and tapped her fingers. He watched her as he always found himself doing. The way her silver eyes retreated thoughtfully, how she scratched the back of her leg with her opposing foot, the way her breasts swelled when she sighed and how she cocked her head to the side, her hair falling away to reveal one shoulder. It was enchanting to him.

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she smiled sheepishly.

"What?" she questioned and he blinked in reply. "Why are you staring at me?"

"What else am I to stare at?" he questioned back. She giggled lightly and turned to face him, her visage a light crimson as she leaned one hip against the counter. She was staring at him mischievously, a hint he was now starting to understand.

She stared him up and down.

"I like the pajama pants," she commented. Momentarily glancing down to take in his own appearance, the fourth shrugged at his black t-shirt, black socks, and green plaid slacks. He had seen no need to change before coming here. Glancing back up, he met her grey eyes once again.

"Thank you," he stated and she laughed before grabbing his hands with her own and swinging them back and forth. He allowed her to manipulate his limbs as she pleased. He needed only to be able to see her.

"You're very welcome," she giggled pleasantly and fell silent. Staring at each other, a sense of calm overtook the room and the fourth unintentionally released a comfortable sigh. She smiled wider. "You know," she started wistfully, "I never thought I'd be standing here with _you_ like this, of all people."

"Then that makes two of us," he stated bluntly.

"I mean, this kind of… normalcy makes everything else seem like a dream to me." He didn't comment despite how he disagreed. This was ordinary to her perhaps, but to him her _normalcy_ seemed a dream. That he could live like this, no fighting, no bloodshed, it was nothing he'd ever experienced before. It seemed a pointless existence, but he was enjoying it nonetheless and was glad when he was able to think realistically and realize that this _was_ his new reality. Everything else was behind him now, a fading memory. "If it was a year ago, I don't know what I would think if someone told me what I'd be doing at this very moment."

"Try and consider it," he replied and she cocked her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed. He wanted to know what she'd thought of him then. He wanted to know how much… how much she had hated him.

"Well…" she glanced at the floor thoughtfully. "I guess I would have been shocked that you were alive to begin with. It was really… traumatizing when you just faded away like that." She stiffened in his grip and he waited patiently for her to continue. "There hadn't been a piece of you left, I couldn't even consider bringing you back, not with the skills I had then, probably not with the skills I have now."

"You think you would have tried?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed and his chest tightened painfully when she stared back up at him with those beautiful doe eyes. "As soon as you guys started fighting the thought of bringing either one or both of you back entered my head. Before you guys showed back up as humans I always… always reflected on whether I should have acted faster. I was so shocked when you vanished so quickly. I should have thrown up a shield; I could have saved you if I'd acted quicker…"

He gulped. "I do not… I do not understand you," he stated hoarsely. "We were enemies, why should you have shown me pity? I was terrible to you, yet even then you claim to have been forgiving of me? Why?" he shook his head. "Even now I do not understand," he could feel his chest welling with some strange suffocating emotion, "why you insist on being with me like this. Why are you never afraid?"

Here eyes softened and she smiled slightly. Taking a step closer to him, she leaned her forehead against his collarbone. "Why are you so hard on yourself?" she whispered as she listened to his rapid heartbeat.

"Because I do not deserve you," he replied quietly, his voice only just above a murmur. "But I cannot distance myself from you." Her hair smelled of strawberries below his nose and he took a deep breath of it.

Stepping back, she glanced up at him, her face pulled into a soft frown, her eyes sad.

"Ulquiorra," he loved it when she said his name, "I've forgiven you." His chest tightened and she reached up to cradle his head in her hands. He closed his eyes and leaned into her embraced, his hands forming a snare around her waist. "But you have to forgive yourself too." Her voice was as soft as the wind and he felt very suddenly like a bird trapped in a cage, desperately trying to escape but imprisoned by his own jail bars. She was the fresh air, but he couldn't find a way to unlock the gate so he might join her there in that place where she was so free. His guilt weighed him down to the ground and though she beckoned him to join her, he feared he would never be able to. He would never fly, not as she did.

"I… cannot," he stated quietly. "What I did to you is something unforgivable." She frowned more deeply, her eyes shining with a slight dampness in the low light of the room. She could see the pain, the longing and the confusion, the hurt, imbedded in his gaze, and she wanted desperately to ease him of the burdens he cast upon himself, but she could not. She cursed her inability to heal emotional wounds, her helplessness. He was drowning himself in his own guilt and she was _trying_ to pull him back to shore, but how do you save a drowning man that _wanted_ to commit suicide?

"Yes you can," she whispered and touched her nose to his. He sighed at her touch, the bittersweet moment pulling on her heartstrings. Reflexively he pulled her closer; their bodies pressed together, his arms wrapping protectively to encompass her small waist. He couldn't let go of the terrible things he had, or had _tried_, to do to her, but he would try to make up for them, though no matter how hard he did try, he felt that he might only be able to do so to a fraction of his transgressions, if even that. She was so bright, so beautiful, and there had been a time when he hadn't known that part of her existed, and that he had been the one to drop her to that low, to try and drag her lower, _was_ unforgivable.

She was a silly fool for granting him that pass so easily, and he would not give himself that same luxury.

He would be with her, but only because she permitted him to be so. He would protect her, but only as long as she decided she needed him. He would stay by her side, but only if she so desired it. He would touch her and appreciate her, but only at her own allowance. Should she change her mind, despite how his body and emotions objected, he would leave and never come back. He was being weak by allowing himself to take advantage of her mislead emotions to begin with, but if she wanted him to leave entirely, he would not refuse her. That was weakness as well, for he could refuse her nothing. He would live for her, if that was what she wanted. And even if she didn't, he couldn't really help it anyway.

She had trapped him in her snare a long time ago, even if he was only now realizing it.

Her breath warmed his pale face, steadying his heart with her calm hold on him. Her fingers were soft against his cheeks, her nose a feather against his own. Pulling him closer, he gave way to her strict tug, their lips brushing, a shockwave shooting up his spine and frazzling the hair on the back of his neck.

He wanted her so badly.

It was pathetic really. His stomach felt tight, his arms and legs unstable. She made him nauseous, and he reveled in the feeling. He adored and despised what she did to him. It was a game of tug and pull, one that left him frozen and completely victim to her. So vulnerable, such an opposition to what he had once been. From a cold stone that felt nothing to this, it was too much, but he couldn't back away. His brain was frying.

And he liked it.

"Are you guys done with the popcorn yet?" a female voice drifted across the room, dashing his thoughts and jamming his emotions to a screeching halt inside his skull. Eyes flashing open, he couldn't hold back his scowl or the growl that erupted angrily from his throat.

This was getting absurd.

"Seriously, I'm fuckin' star-" the two other inhabitants of the apartment appeared in the kitchen doorway, blue and black freezing when they witnessed what they'd walked in on. "Aw crap," Grimmjow groaned when he saw the death ingrained in Ulquiorra gaze, death directed at him.

"Woops!" Tatsuki pursed her lips as the redhead pulled away from the man that had invaded her kitchen, a sheepish yet exasperated sigh escaping her mouth. Dropping her hands to her side, she turned to the microwave, surprised to see that it had already beeped. She hadn't even heard it. "Gosh, twice in one day, sorry Orihime…"

"You've done this before?" Grimmjow turned to the shorter woman. "Man, and I thought I was bad." Turning back to Ulquiorra, he smirked despite how he saw his painful death flashing in his brothers eyes. "Maybe it isn't us; maybe you two need to learn to keep your hands to yourselves."

"You would be so lucky," the fourth ground out, his fists clenched at his sides as the Woman, who was now blushing profusely, carried the bag of popcorn across the room to a large bowl already halfway filled with the same substance. Her body heat evaporated from the area around him, and he felt all the more irritated.

"In any case," the blue haired man continued, his smile widening and the other woman following suit with a light laugh, "it seems that we've interrupted, _again_, so let's get this party started already seeing you two were having a little celebration of your own without us."

Ulquiorra would have preferred it stay that way.

**oOo**

Okay, so it had been a complete ploy so she could lure Grimmjow into her apartment. And it had worked too, but this was _so_ utterly boring. Just blood and gore and zombies, bleh, it wasn't exactly her forte. But both Grimmjow and Tatsuki were enjoying the show. It may have been dark, but the redhead could see their expressions reflected in the light from the television. They sat next to each other on the love seat, her best friends eyes wide, Grimmjow's mouth ajar in rapt attention.

She smiled at their obvious intensity in watching the movie.

It wasn't that she was disgusted by the show per say, but it she just found it boring. Pointless bloodshed never really got her attention, for obvious reasons, and she'd only suggested the movie because she'd assumed Grimmjow would enjoy it more than the romantic comedy _she_ had originally picked out. She had been right.

Still, it was boring her to tears. Glancing across the room, she saw that Ulquiorra was of a similar mindset. He sat lazily in one of her two puffy chairs (she inhabited the other) that framed the loveseat. She'd given up the sofa in hopes that perhaps Grimmjow and Tatsuki would get a little cozier, but they were both too caught up in the action of the video to even notice each other. Plus, she'd also been afraid that, after considering what Grimmjow had teased about, she and Ulquiorra _wouldn't_ have been able to keep their hands off each other.

So she'd situated them a fair distance apart, though how he'd felt about the arrangement she couldn't tell.

Still, he appeared just as bored as she and had nodded off a few times. But Grimmjow had warned them about such when they'd sat down. Apparently Ulquiorra was notorious for falling asleep during movies. Orihime smiled at the thought and watched as his green eyes fell closed once again, his head lolling to one side, his lips parted ever so slightly.

Well she now knew where they would never go on any dates.

Still, she might just make him go to the theatre anyway. He looked to serene and peaceful, the frown leaving his face. It was like he was completely void of any worry, and she enjoyed seeing him like that.

Was he dreaming she wondered?

Eyes flicking to the television, the redhead held back a sigh. She couldn't take this anymore. Getting to her feet, she wasn't at all surprise when neither Grimmjow nor Tatsuki realized she'd moved. They were far too engrossed in the film. Shaking her head and smiling, she walked around the back of the couch.

Ulquiorra, even in his sleep, had realized the change in the room and had opened his eyes. Glancing at her as she moved around behind them, his frown returned. She smiled at him though and his gaze followed her as she picked a long sweater off the dining room table and headed for the door. With a last glance in his general direction, she silently opened the door and headed out into the night.

Making sure to be as quiet as possible, the redhead clicked the door closed behind her and breathed in the cool night air. It was refreshing and with a wide smile she sank down onto the steps, the cool moonlight basking her chilled frame. Wrapping her sweater around her figure, she relished the openness of the night.

She heard the door open again and close quietly. Smiling to herself, she didn't need to look back to know who had followed her. She merely waited and it wasn't long before he'd taken a seat next to her.

"Did you not enjoy the film?" he asked, his legs stretched out before him, his arms supporting him from behind. Pulling her knees to her chest, the redhead considered his words.

"Well, it's a little too… exaggerated for me," she decided and glanced over at him. His pale complexion reflected the moonlight like silver, his green eyes shining. She'd forgotten how majestic he looked during the night. The sun didn't suit him, but the moon was another story entirely. She was momentarily enthralled.

"I find watching a story to be utterly boring," he commented. "Reading allows the mind to envision events for itself, but films take out all the creativity, thus it stunts my mind and I fall asleep." She laughed. Despite the absurdity of what he said, it made perfect sense. Glancing over at her, his green gaze bore down on her, the moonlight giving it a colder, sharper appearance than usual.

Turning from him, she pulled her arms up over her head, her back curving as she stretched.

"I get that," she replied as she collapsed once again. Turning back to him, she wasn't at all surprised to find him still staring at her, his gaze having deepened. Smiling sweetly, she scooted closer to him. His eyes widened slightly, but he didn't retreat. Their legs knocked together and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

He was stiff at first, but relaxed momentarily.

"Though I would have to say that sometimes it's nice having the thoughts… thought _for_ me." She turned her head up to grin at him. "Takes off a little stress, but I guess sleeping does that too." His lips tightened slightly. "But I won't make you watch movies for my sake," she assured. "We'll have to find somewhere else to go on dates."

"Dates?" his haste in replying humored her and she felt him stiffen once again.

"Of course," she began happily. "We could go to dinner or the beach or to a theme park or we just go for a walk or… well there's tons of stuff we could do besides watch movies." He was momentarily silent, thoughts floating around in his eyes.

"When would you like to do these things?" he asked hesitantly. He'd never… dated anyone, never even considered the thought. If he was dating her did that make her his… girlfriend? What a foreign concept.

"Whenever we want," she assured. "I mean, it's not like some formal thing or something. It's just a way for us to spend time together." She felt so silly explaining these things to him, but he was so clueless. It was adorable though.

"You can decide then," he stated. She gave him a disapproving look and crossed her arms over her chest. "What?"

"That's hardly how relationships work," she stated. "It's a joint effort. Me deciding everything could completely axe things you like to do." He shrugged.

"I will be happy doing whatever it is that makes you happy."

She smiled. "That, mister, is a very sneaky way to get out of this." He furrowed his eyebrow, he wasn't being sneaky, he was being honest. "You can't say cheesy stuff like that and think I'm going to fall for it." What in the world was she talking about?

"I don't understand your meaning," he stated his thoughts allowed.

"Yeah sure," she giggled and wrapped her arms around his middle, pulling herself closer to him. She frowned. "You're so thin…" granted, he was muscular, but she could still feel his ribs through his shirt. "Eat a sandwich or something."

"I eat enough to sustain my existence," he replied and she sighed.

"That's not really healthy you know." She gave him a reprimanding eye, but it didn't seem to have much effect. His gaze turned empty, he had no intention of upping his food consumption. "I might just have to strap you down and force it down your throat," she joked with a smile.

He frowned more deeply.

"That is not funny Woman," he retorted sharply and she sighed. He really needed to get a sense of humor. She was only trying to loosen him up. But her endeavors constantly failed. He was so uptight.

Pulling away from him, she decided to try another tactic.

"Okay," she started, "do what I do." He narrowed his eyes at her intently, not quite sure what she was getting at. Smiling, she loosened her entire posture and shook herself violently, her hair flying in every direction. His eyes widened and when she stopped, he was still in much the same state. "Now you try."

.

.

.

"…No." Turning away from her, he tried to ignore her frown. But she was acting completely ridiculous and he would not subjugate himself to such absurdities.

"_Aw_, c'mon," she pleaded and attached herself to him once again. "It's fun I promise." He didn't reply. "Here, I'll help you." Taking a hold of his back and torso, she tried to shake him and was failing miserably. Shying away suddenly, he contorted his body backwards in an attempt to slip from her grasp.

"Woman!" he stated suddenly and swiftly grabbed her by the wrists. "Enough." She frowned, her arms loose in his grip. But her thoughts were processing quickly and it wasn't long before her grey orbs were alight again, a wide, mischievous, _knowing_ smile stretching across her lips

"I never would have thought…" she was in awe. "You're ticklish aren't you?" He didn't reply, only frowned more deeply, his grip on her wrists tightening. "That is… _so_ funny." He glared at her and with force he hadn't been expecting, she ripped her hands from his, her smile only widening.

He was about to stand, the thought executed, his body trying to reply, but he wasn't fast enough and with speed very uncanny of her, she had tackled him to the ground. Eyes wide, he listened to her giggle sadistically above him, her legs straddling his lower torso.

Reaching up in an attempt to halt her intentions, his body suddenly spasmed, his torso rejecting the cool night air as she pushed his shirt aside and attacked him.

"Woman!" he hissed as her soft fingertips brushed his abdomen like feathers. Another spasm and all he could think about was trying to get away _as fast_ as possible. "**Woman! Stop**!" he grabbed the ground with his hands and attempted to wiggle out from beneath her, but it was proving very difficult. She had him firmly between her legs and his body was lax in doing want he wanted it to. Instead it settled for writhing and jumping, the unpleasant sensations sending abundant amounts of blood to his face. "Gah, Wo-woman! **Enough**!"

She was still giggling.

Pursing his lips, he tried to turn over, an automatic response to such an attack, but his body was so frazzled that it just couldn't do what he said. It was out of control and as her hands moved to his sides his eyes widened even further, his legs flailing around desperately in an attempt to dislodge her. He tried to push her back with his hands, but with every stroke of her fingers his arms weakened to jello, rendering them almost completely useless.

Gasping, he tried to ignore the heat rushing to his lower abdomen as her fingers trailed further up under his shirt. Now he was flailing about like a fish _and_ utterly turned on, not a good combination. "Wo- Stop- will you- **Woman**! Get your- _**ah**_! St-_stop_!" he tried to ignore the desperate whine in his voice, it was pathetic, but she was torturing him!

"No!" she replied through her teeth, her fingers moving more fiercely against his bare skin. Jolting upward, he finally got his body to do something useful. The sudden jerk had dislodged her momentarily and he took full advantage when her fingers slowed.

Scooting backwards, he was able to successfully remove her from his being. Taking deep breaths, he gulped and tried to shakily get up. But she had recovered more quickly then he and had dragged herself back over to him, her hand once again seizing his stomach. Collapsing again as soon as she had commenced in the torture once more, he closed his eyes and shuffled backwards again. It wasn't long before he had backed up into the door though. No escape.

Water pooled behind his eyes as his mental stability began to fray. His mouth formed into a grimace, his cheeks reddening so deeply that they ached. His teeth were clenched together tightly; his arms and legs still trying desperately to remove her.

"_Please_ Woman!" he begged, his voice resembling something close to a whimper. "I'll do… any-_**any**_**thing**! Just- **Gah**!" She was laughing manically now. He was shaking, fidgeting, jerking, twitching, and none of it would get her to release him! This was _beyond_ torture.

_And_ it was humiliating!

"You have to smile first!" she whispered deviously. Eyes widening more, he released a gasping breath as he tried to unsuccessfully scale the wall behind him. Hands slipping, he tried his best to keep breathing.

"You're in_**sane**_!" he fell back to the ground, his body twisting desperately into the door. "As if this would- _ah_- make me- **fuck**! _**Do that**_!" With a suddenness he wasn't expecting, her hands halted. Shaking violently, his body echoed with the remaining sensations fleetingly. Soon though he was able to breathe again, his lungs pulling air into his body in heaving gusts. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and his nostrils flared along with his eyes. His arms and legs still shook, uncontrollable as he fell in a heap to the ground.

"Alright, fine," she decided, her body collapsing into his lap, her arms crossed over her chest. "I've never heard you sound so desperate before," she teased and he glared at her with what little energy he had left. "Too bad you didn't laugh or smile though, I'll just have to try again some other time."

"**No you won't**!" he commanded sharply, desperately. Never again did he want to repeat this experience.

"You can't stop me," she replied and stuck her tongue out at him before flapping her arms like a chicken. "I'll be like a bat in the night, you'll never see me coming." He frowned, this did not sound good. Laughing again, she placed her hands on his shaking chest, her legs tightening around his lower abdomen.

His body was still out of his control and with a ferociousness he had never experienced, all the blood in his body surged downward. Furrowing his eyebrows, he sank lower to the ground, successfully pulling her forward so she sat on his stomach instead of… other places.

Falling down entirely, it wasn't long before he was lying flat on her porch, his green eyes gazing up into her bight silver ones.

"You… will be the death of me," he uttered quietly, trying his best to keep that deep, throaty tone out of his speech. She giggled happily, her hair draping around his face as she leaned forward.

He could smell and feel the heat radiating off of her, and it did his condition no good. She was panting from their previous foray, her hot breath washing his face in soft wisps' of steaming air. Her body shuddered atop his, the motion sending numbing shockwaves bouncing around his entire being.

He couldn't take it anymore. She was his weakness, his newest addiction. He'd been deprived of her taste too many times now and it was driving him crazy. Colors whirled in his head and in a swift motion he had not himself been expecting, he pushed his head up to meet hers, his eyes closing as his lips smashed into hers.

She gasped, but didn't pull away. Forcing his head back down onto the porch, she gripped his shirt between her fingers, her legs tightening dangerously around his middle. Unconsciously sliding his hands up her legs, the fourth found her milky thighs beneath his palms, her shorts doing nothing to deter him from taking advantage of her skin. It was so soft beneath his fingertips and his breath caught in his throat.

Gulping, he was stunned when she released him, her breathing hard. Not about to let it end there, he followed her up and took her lower lip between his own two. Moaning, she again didn't object, only succumbed to his demands. Pulling up, he once again captured her whole mouth, her labored attempts to breathe suffocating him as well as she sucked all the air out of him.

Sitting up fully, he wrapped his arms around her waist, her legs doing the same to his torso as she fell into his lap. Gasping, he tried to ignore the ache she had disturbed and instead focused on the softness of her lips. She was so feminine and he drove to take full advantage of that. It was sloppy, but he didn't care. She had been taunting him all day, probably unintentionally, but that was beside the point. Every time he'd come within inches of this, they'd been interrupted. He'd been ready to burst so many times that day, and he'd be damned if he had to live with this for much longer.

Her hands traveled up his chest to his shoulders, rounding out behind his head. Gripping his shaggy locks in her hands, she ran her fingers along his scalp. She didn't know what had come over her; she'd never acted this passionately towards anyone before. She hadn't had a boyfriend in a long time, a couple years, and she wasn't completely innocent, but this wasn't just making out either. The insistent way he tugged on her mouth with his own, the way he was suffocating her with his grip around her middle, his labored breathing… his reactions to here were feeding her own. Her heart was shaking insides her, her legs trembling around him, not nervously, but anxiously.

She had feelings for him, yes, but her body had a mind all its own it seemed, and an agenda as well.

He pulled her tighter to him, his hands fisting the back of her tank top as though he wanted to rip it from her body. She could feel it in the way his arms were shaking around her, he was practicing some control, but was on the verge of losing it.

She'd never even fathomed seeing him like this. He was always so composed, so calm, so distant. This Ulquiorra was the complete opposite of that. He was still determined to get his way, but his lust for her was taking that to entirely new levels. He was shuddering, quaking beneath her.

He was an animal.

And she liked it.

Everyone always treated her like she was going to break, like she was made of porcelain. She was tired of being pampered. She wasn't that weak, and this animalistic quest he had taken upon himself in discovering her did more than please her.

But that was where it was dangerous.

It was too fast, too sudden.

Her body wanted it, but she knew neither of them could handle it mentally.

They'd shut down their brains for too long.

It had to end.

Had to stop.

"Stop."

… And he did.

Removing his mouth from hers, his retreat was as quick as her command. He turned, his eyes closed, his mouth set in a straight line as he attempted to compose himself. She did the same, her shaking hands finding support on his trembling shoulders.

She was… relieved. The thought of ending their connection had disappointed her momentarily, but then the fear that he wouldn't stop had crossed her mind. She now realized what a fool she'd been.

It didn't matter how deeply they were involved in one another, he would not disrespect her in that manner. She should have known better.

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his collar bone, taking in the sharp scent emanating off his sweating body. His breathing had slowed, and she tried to match his rhythm.

"My apologies," he whispered, his voice breathy against her head. Pulling away from him, she glanced up to see his unsure green eyes staring down at her. She couldn't help smiling despite how worried he appeared.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," she whispered and replaced her head on his collar bone. "You stopped when I asked you to, and that's more than enough. A lot of lesser men would have ignored that."

"It doesn't matter," he replied and held her tighter in his arms despite how they argued. "I should not have-"

"Ulquiorra," her voice was firm, her eyelashes fluttering against his throat, "you haven't done anything wrong. Trust me, it's okay." He laid his chin on her head, silent. "I wanted it too…" Her confession caused him to exhale deeply, and she was glad to feel his body relaxing.

"You do strange things to me Woman."

"You _like_ it."

**oooooooooooooooooo**

Snap, hormonal teenagers on the loose. So this chapter was completely fluff, haha. Some of you will be disappointed, aka my brother, but like it while it lasts because some serious shit is going down next chapter.

This is a serious Ulquihime overload chapter though, like even typing it was a bit much, I don't usually focus on couples this much, but I luff them together SOOOOO much, lawl! They are adorable. Even more adorable then Squall and Rinoa, and they're pretty darn cute. Moving a bit fast though aren't they /wink. Oh well, they needed to get a little bit of that out of their systems, Grimmjow and Tatsuki were causing them all kinds of problems.

I wonder what those two were doing…? Haha, just kidding. They're still glued to the television I assure you. Well, that or the door. I can imagine them being the type to eavesdrop after hearing Ulquiorra yelling like that, HA!

All they were doing was making out though, so it was still pretty innocent.

I love ticklish Ulquiorra though, that's like one of those things that you would never expect, but then realize that it works perfectly. And he's one of those SUPER ticklish people, you know the ones I'm talking about.

Well anyway, not a whole lot to report about this chapter except that Ichigo and Grimmjow cracked me up, but they were pretty overshadowed by the Ulquihime-ness.

Hope you liked and be ready for some action next chapter!

WOW THIS CHAPTER IS **20 PAGES** LONG! Longest chapter I've ever written for anything. I could almost split it in half.

Luffs you all!

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE! (that includes you Robert though I doubt you even read my author notes anyway, bastard).

Oh, also, someone mentioned something about drawing stuff inspired by this fic. If anyone ever does anything like that, please email me links or something cuz I would LOVE to see :DDDDDDDD


	10. Hating How She Slips Through My Fingers

**The Definition of Love**

_"Everyday seven takes of the **same old scene**_  
_ Seems we're bound by the **laws** of the **same routine**_  
_ Gotta talk to you now 'fore we go to sleep_  
_ But will we sleep once I tell you what's **hurting** me_

_ The **world slows down** but my **heart beats fast** right now_  
_ I know this is the part where the **end starts**_  
_ I can't take it any longer_  
_ Thought that we were **stronger**_  
_ All we do is **linger**_  
_ **Slipping** through our **fingers**_  
_ I **don't want **to **try** now_  
_ All that's left is **goodbye** to_  
_ Find a way that I can tell you_  
_ I **hate** this **part right here**_  
_ I **hate** this **part right here**_  
_ I just can't **take your tears**_  
_ **I hate this part right here**_"

**_I Hate This Part - Pussycat Dolls_**

**Chapter 10: Hating How She Slipped Through My Fingers **

Rolling to the side, he shoved his face into the sofa, intent on not getting up no matter how it vibrated. He hadn't gone to bed until two and it was only five now, so he'd be damned if he answered the contraption. Like the home telephone, he'd never used this one either, but Starrk had insisted they take it with them.

He was currently paying for doing what his guardian had insisted.

Now that he was slightly awake, he realized just how uncomfortable he was. Being curled up in a chair for three hours would do that though, and with a groggy kind of forwardness, he reached into his pants pocket and sifted around for the small, irritating, buzzing device. Once retrieving it, he considered chucking it across the room. But that might wake up the other three sleeping figures and he'd rather not.

Sighing, he slowly stretched his legs and stood, his vision blurry in the early morning. The sun was just starting to rise and he cursed it, he had only a few hours before he had to head back to… school…

He lumbered over to the other side of the room and flipped the contraption open. Holding to his ear, he waited.

"_Where are you two?_" He yawned and rubbed his eyes, and then considered whether or not to reply. "_Starrk said you two left last night and hadn't come back yet. I just got home seconds ago, I'm tired, and the last thing I wanted to worry about was you two._"

"Then don't," he stated simply. She huffed on the other end, her patience fraying.

"_Ulquiorra, get your brother and get back here _now_,_" she commanded, her voice deadly. "_I want you two here in twenty minutes or I swear to god you're not going to like what happens. You have school in two hours, and I want a full explanation of where you've been before that. Do you understand me?_" He pursed his lips into a thin line. It would figure Harribel would come home the _one_ time he'd done something stupid. Like staying the night at his girlfriend's house.

It was innocent though, but he had a fat chance of convincing the third of such.

"Yes ma'am," he replied monotonously. She huffed once more before hanging up on him. Glancing down at the small device, he frowned and shut it, dropping it back into his pocket. Now at least somewhat awake, he stumbled back over to the couch. The Woman was curled up on the other chair, her friend laying on the couch, and Grimmjow on the floor next to it.

Not wanting to waste any of their allotted twenty minutes, he kicked the sixth, knowing full well that it would wake the man up.

"Gah!" the blue haired Espada exclaimed as he jolted awake. His exclamation woke the other two as well and Ulquiorra immediately regretted having been violent with him. He hadn't wanted to wake up the redhead.

"What's going on?" she asked as she blinked at him.

"Get up," he directed his voice at Grimmjow who was rubbing his side, appearing offended. "Harribel just called," he started and the sixth raised a curious eyebrow. "If we're not home in twenty minutes we're in for it." Eyes widening, the blue haired teen jumped to his feet.

"Fuck," he swore as he made his way over to the door and began clumsily slipping on his boots. "I hate getting on her bad side, she's such a tyrant." Ulquiorra followed his brother's example and began slipping on his shoes as well.

"I know," he replied though he was probably in ten times the trouble. What was he supposed to tell her other than the truth? He wasn't any good at lying. Perhaps he could brainstorm with Grimmjow on the way back. But _anywhere_ he went with Grimmjow would be bad. He could have said he'd been at the library, but there was no way the sixth would have joined him _there_.

Dammit.

Slipping on his coat, he hadn't even realized that the Woman had come up behind him.

"So you guys are leaving then?" she asked and he turned to face her. She was smiling slightly, as always, and he nodded. "Well I guess we'll see you at school then," she decided and he nodded again as he zipped up the jacket.

"Don't get yourselves grounded or something," Tatsuki snickered and Grimmjow cast her a disgusted look. He already had three months racked up against him. But Ulquiorra could see the possibility of more being very plausible. He didn't want to be locked up in the house all the time like Grimmjow.

"C'mon, hurry up," Grimmjow whined as he swung the door open. "We're going to have to run to get back in time." Sighing, the fourth headed for the door as well, and was taken aback when someone forcefully grabbed his sleeve and yanked him backwards.

"Not so fast," she joked with a laugh. Turning to face her, he was caught off guard yet again when she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the contact when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"For fucks sake," the sixth growled. "We don't have time for this." Grabbing the fourth by the back of the collar, he jerked the shorter man back and out the door, earning a laugh from the redhead as they stumbled outside. "Save your make-outs for times less urgent," he was saying as they door closed behind them.

Turning to each other, the girls shrugged and smiled.

**oOo**

"So, who's going to fess up?" She was mad. _Really_ mad. Neither of them really understood why though. They weren't children. Well, perhaps by human standards they were. And perhaps with their level of development both physically and mentally they were. And their personalities might lead people to think so as well.

But, gosh darn it, _they_ were convinced they weren't.

Still, despite this fact, both males sat stoically at the table, their eyes diverted, as Harribel's flashing gaze tore them asunder. Ulquiorra was as composed as usual, his signature frown ever present, but he couldn't bring his eyes up to meet his legal guardians. Grimmjow pouted and sulked next to him, resembling a spoiled brat that just got yelled at for not sharing his toys.

Starrk stood next to her, his eyes downcast as well. He'd probably been thoroughly reprimanded already for not inquiring into their whereabouts. He was rather bad at this whole parenting thing. Or maybe Harribel was just too good at it.

"I'm waiting," she stated and crossed her arms under her breasts, her eyebrows raised overly high. Grimmjow scowled and glared accusingly at the fourth. Holding back a sigh, the green eyed man sank lower into his chair and considered his options.

Neither boy had been able to come up with a viable excuse that sounded presentable, thus they had walked in empty handed. And apparently Grimmjow was intent on letting Ulquiorra take most of the hit. It was irritating, but the darker of the two understood somewhat.

It had been his idea to go over there to begin with. Grimmjow had just rounded out the whole adventure.

Finally finding the gull to glance up, the fourth found those leafy green eyes staring holes through his skull. He hated this. He never did anything wrong. He took orders, did as he was expected, finished his homework, did his chores. This kind of scrutiny was beyond aggravating. No wonder the sixth was so mad all the time, he dealt with this twenty-four seven.

"One of you needs to answer me _now_," she was getting more and more irritated as the seconds ticked by. "And if your refuse to tell me, the punishment will be ten times worse." Glancing between the boys, she continued to wait with unending patience.

Grimmjow scoffed and shook his head. He had no time left, no more chances to find an excuse. His blue haired brother was about to rat him out.

"We were at Orihime Inoue's apartment," he stated bluntly. Both Starrk and Harribel furrowed their eyebrows (they hadn't told Starrk where they were going), obviously confused by this answer and in need of elaboration. "Because…" Glancing back at Ulquiorra, the sixth saw nothing but the back of his head. "Because _Ulquiorra_… is a horn dog."

"_Grimmjow_!"

"What?" Harribel interrupted shortly, her eyes drifting to the fourth as he glared, hard, into his brother's face. Smirking, Grimmjow shrugged. He'd done his part. This was Ulquiorra's show now. "What is he talking about?" Sighing, the green eyed man sat back in his seat.

"That Woman and I are…" he could feel the blood rushing to his face. He wasn't sure why he was so embarrassed, but he was. It was probably due to the fact that he had lived so long viewing emotions as a weakness and had then turned around and been the first one of them to gain a significant other. It contradicted everything he had lived by. "… We are in a… relationship…"

Silence.

Harribel appeared incredulous.

"In a relationship?" she was obviously processing the information. "What kind… of relationship?" She had to ask. Knowing Ulquiorra they could have been over their studying and he'd say a vague term like "relationship" and it could mean anything.

"A… romantic one…" He stared at the floor. Mouth dropping slightly, the blonde woman glanced back at Starrk who appeared equally shocked.

"With Orihime Inoue?" The fourth glared at her. Was she really going to make him repeat himself? "Wow… okay…" Grimmjow fidgeted in his seat. "So… you were there… last night… both of you…?"

"It's kind of a long story," the sixth interrupted grumpily, "but basically we went over there, watched a movie, and fell asleep… Well that's what _I_ did anyway." Grinning, the blue haired teen earned another murderous look from his brother.

There was a pause as their blonde mother hen considered the situation.

"Well…" she set her mouth into a firm line and Grimmjow grinned wider. Here it comes… "It's inappropriate to be out so late on a school night, both of you, and I… I am not _entirely_ comfortable with you staying the night there Ulquiorra…" This was getting awkward. "But next time you're going to be out so late, make sure you call. But don't make a regular habit of this either."

Grimmjow waited… and waited…

… And _waited_…

"Is that it?" the sixth furrowed his eyebrows in dismay. "You're not going to ground him or anything?" Starrk and Harribel exchanged a glance, something passing between them the two others in the room could not comprehend, before the blonde turned her gaze to Grimmjow.

"Well… no…"

"What?" the sixth was on his feet in a flash. "You can't be serious? If I had stayed the night with a girl like this you would have been pissed! This is so not fucking fair!" For the first time in his entire existence, Ulquiorra had to use force in exerting his normal frown for one corner had threatened to perk upwards.

"Language Grimmjow," the blonde reprimanded, casting him a disapproving eye. "And Ulquiorra is quite a bit more responsible than you." The sixth gaped. "Now both you get upstairs, you have to leave for school in an hour." Wasting no time in evacuating the stuffy room, the fourth rose to his feet and walked hastily out, his ears picking up minor objections as Grimmjow continued to argue with Harribel about her decision.

**oOo**

He couldn't take it anymore. It was… beyond disturbing. Even sitting next to them during class was making him irritated. It was just something about the way they behaved with each other, the way they "accidentally" kept touching each other, how they were constantly eye-sexing each other. It was seriously getting on his nerves. It had been like this for the last two weeks since Ulquiorra _hadn't_ gotten punished (yes, the sixth was still bitter about it) and it was driving him insane.

It wouldn't have been so bad if he could say something. Every time they did one of those silly little couple things, he wanted to make a snarky rebuttal, but he had to constantly hold his tongue. _She'd_ do something, and _he'd_ feel inclined to reply in some sort of fashion, and they'd be like that for the rest of the day.

The blue haired man couldn't. Take it. Anymore.

It was bad enough that Harribel and Starrk encouraged their relationship. He didn't need proof of it everywhere he went though. And then Ulquiorra would come home late looking all _pleased_ with himself and the sixth just wanted to **strangle him**!

It was so fucking backwards.

And no one else even noticed! The two were supposed to be "keeping it a secret" yet they weren't doing a very good job. If anyone had even humored the possibility they would have seen it straight off, but all those damn friends of hers were too close minded to even consider the thought, so the two little "love birds" next to him continued on their merry **fucking** way.

Bastards.

"Okay, seriously, I don't know what I did, but you need to stop glaring at me," Ichigo was bristling and the sixth growled in return. He'd glare at whoever he deemed appropriate. He _wanted_ to point his gaze at the fourth, but drawing attention to him was what he _wasn't_ supposed to be doing, so the strawberry would have to do instead.

The vein in Uryu's forehead began throbbing and he turned to them.

"I swear to god, you two start arguing again and I'll…" his nostrils were flaring, "I'll do something drastic." Both males smirked at the empty threat, glancing at each other and exchanging the same thoughts. As if the Quincy _could_ do anything.

"Saying stuff like that only instigates them," Rukia stated from her seat. She hadn't even looked up from the reading they were _supposed_ to be doing. But it was the end of the day and almost everyone in the classroom was chatting.

"They drive me insane," he ground out, his own book held tightly between his hands, his knuckles pale. Grimmjow didn't have a whole lot of love for the four-eyed archer. He honestly reminded him of Ulquiorra only worse, more bitchy. He didn't need any more of that in his life at the moment.

"You don't know what it's like to have someone drive you insane," the blue haired teenager muttered and gave in to his weakness. Turning his head to the right, he glared death into his brother. He wanted so badly to set him on fire with his mind.

"Dude, he never even fuckin' talks," Renji commented as he leaned lazily against the windowsill between Grimmjow and Ichigo. Ulquiorra had glanced up from his book upon realizing the conversation was now centered on him, his frown deepening.

"Oh he has plenty to say when he wants to," he hissed and the fourth raised a skeptical eyebrow. His green eyes drifted from the blue haired teen to the woman sitting next to him. They exchanged what Grimmjow knew was a "knowing" glance before they painfully ripped their gazes apart again; Ulquiorra's drifting back to Grimmjow. The communication between the two went over everyone else's heads and the sixth gripped the desk so as not strangle his pale brother.

They didn't even need to keep it a secret anymore! Everyone was fine with the ex-hollow's now, even Ichigo to a certain extent. The two were only doing this because they thought it was fun.

Fucking assholes.

"You're such a little bitch," Ichigo muttered and shook his head.

"Watch your mouth cock-bag," Grimmjow snarled. "Your sisters are staying the night at _my_ house tonight, if you remember correctly." Whipping around in his seat, the shinigami stiffened with rage.

"You do anything to my sisters and I swear-"

"Oh my _god_, stop!" Uryu exclaimed. Turning, the two arguing men glared at the Quincy.

"Fuck you," the stated in unison.

"Ichigo, Grimmjow, detention for swearing," their teachers voice echoed across the classroom and both scowled.

Not again.

**oOo**

"Hurry up Grimmjow," Lilynette whined, Hueco barking after her as if to encourage the sixth. But he was in no hurry whatsoever. The sun was setting, casting a warm light across his face. He sighed pleasantly.

"_Oh my god_," Karin muttered when it was obvious the blue haired teen wasn't going to adjust his speed. They would have left him he knew, but Harribel had insisted they stay together, too many hollows around. Not that it would matter either way, none of them stood a chance, but the older woman still felt they should remain in a single group.

Well, Grimmjow supposed there were human threats as well, but those usually went over his head.

"Chill out, fuck," he mumbled as he approached them. They both glared at him before turning and continuing on their way. Again they began to drift apart, but Grimmjow continued his slow pace. They would stop once again, yell at him, wait, and the process would continue to repeat itself till they got home.

Sighing, the sixth kept one lazy eye on them. This was not the way he'd wanted to spend his Friday night. Granted, he didn't have anything else to do, but it was the thought that counted in the end. He didn't _want_ to hang around his sister and her friend, thus he had the right to complain about it.

"Hey look!" Lilynette exclaimed and his blue gaze drifted to her shorter form, "there's Ulquiorra!" Sure enough, the dark haired man had appeared around a corner perpendicular to their current street.

Grimmjow's shoulders sank. Just what he wanted, an annoying little emo kid with a book shoved up his nose. He must be on his way back from the library seeing as his newest hobby is gone for the weekend. The thought brought a sick kind of pleasantness to the sixth. He was stuck here while all of _them_ were staying the weekend in Uryu's father's beach house.

Orihime far, far away…

… with _Kurosaki_.

Finally realizing they were there, the fourth glanced up, his frown deepening when he saw Lilynette prancing across the street to meet him. Karin was a little ways behind, Hueco's leash in her hands as the puppy tried to drag her across the street after its owner. The sun was setting and the sixth had to squint to see them as they ran, Ulquiorra's figure waiting for them on the other side of clear vision.

Lilynette was going into a story about her day, one that Grimmjow had already heard.

Karin was laughing, Hueco tugging her forcefully. Her baseball cap flew off.

He didn't see it hit the ground.

It happened too fast. He'd been in the middle of sighing, about to cross the street himself. He'd thought it was a breeze coming on, but…

It was a deliberate attack, planned. They had to have been watching them, it was too clean otherwise.

He'd stepped off the sidewalk only to feel as if he'd run into a brick wall. Eyes widening, he could have sworn someone had punched him in the gut. Feet lifting off the ground, arms thrusting forward as his body surged back, he saw her fall to the ground just before he was thrown into a light post. Head snapping, it collided with the metal protrusion, his skull cracking as his brain rattled around in his head.

And as a white flash surged through his temples, he saw her falling. Blood was flying, spurting from a fatal gash in her side. She was limp, her black hair tinted red as her small form thudded to the ground.

**o**

"Get up!" snapping his eyes open with a sudden breath; he made an immediate effort to stand. At first he thought he was going to fail, but then through the haze of color engulfing his vision, he came in contact with two forest green eyes, and a silent message was conveyed between the two.

He _had_ to get up.

"What happened?" he demanded to know.

"I don't know," his brother replied hastily, "but we don't have time now to worry about it." Blinking, the two Ulquiorra's before him slowly became one. The fourth was drenched in blood, a large gash above his eyebrow. The two eyes that had been staring him down were actually one; the other was too awash with red to be opened. "We have to get to Urahara."

"What? Why?" the blue haired man placed a steadying hand on the light post before he had the chance to pass out again. "**Fuck** Urahara! We need to get to a hospital, did you see what happened to-"

"It's too late," the other snapped. "She's dead."

**oOo**

"Thanks dad!" she smiled as sweetly as she possibly could, her dirtied and flowered hands held out towards the tall man. He placed the bag in her grasp, one eyebrow raised.

"I hope you plan on cleaning up before you step back into _my_ house," he stated and she giggled, clutching the previously used bag to her chest. "I take it you two have been busy then?" Nodding, the blonde smiled wider and her father had to return the gesture.

"We're making something _really_ good," she teased. "And since Karin and I are staying the night here, you'd be eating all alone without Ichigo there." She was trying to be discreet, but her smile probably didn't hide her intentions. "You should join us." He appeared incredulous, but she would never know truly for it was then that another entered the conversation.

"I agree, you _should_ join us," the older woman stated. Turning, Yuzu smiled at the sight of her. Granted, she was covered in flour as well (note they had to have Isshin bring over another bag) but she still looked as pretty as ever.

"How could I possibly refuse?" he asked and Harribel smiled. "Though I'm a little afraid to step inside at the sight of you two." Gaping, Yuzu feigned offense. Truthfully, she was beyond ecstatic that he had said yes. Now he and Harribel might finally be able to get down to talking.

"You should be," the blonde woman replied. "My kitchen looks as though a tornado went through it thanks to your daughter." Gaping further, the youngest of the set turned her gaze to Harribel, apparently betrayed.

"Well that's a Kurosaki for you," he nodded once, "full of destructive power." Sighing, Yuzu rolled her eyes, but grinned again when Harribel laughed lightly. Granted it was still formal chit-chat, but one always had to start somewhere.

"Perhaps," she started, "but if we're going to go on stereotypes here, I must say that Yuzu does quite a good job of stepping outside that. Despite her ability to make a rather large mess, she has great intuition, at least in the kitchen." Isshin let out a short laugh.

"Yes, well, that _would_ break the stereotype," he replied. "I'm just as bad as my son at things like that, so I suppose my daughters must have inherited that from their mother." Harribel smiled wider as she wiped her hands down her apron, the flour littering the porch.

"You sensed my reiatsu well enough," she stated as she stood straight again, her arms folded below her breasts. "That's got to count for something." He shrugged.

"I shook your hand," he argued. "Even for the most inept shinigami, that's enough to cause pause if something is obviously a little out of place." The blonde woman nodded. "Although I must say, even at this distance I sense that… you are producing less spiritual flow then the last time we spoke."

"Yes, well, I've been working on keeping it under control," she grimaced. "Too many hollows around."

"You're doing a very good job, better than some shinigami." She blushed slightly.

"Thank you," was all she could say in her defense. Isshin nodded though Yuzu caught the curious glint in his eyes. Still, it was shinigami stuff and she decided to ignore it. That was for her father to deal with. So long as Ichigo and all his friends were around, she wouldn't worry about it.

"_So_ anyway," the youngest of the three cut in, "Grimmjow, Lilynette, and Karin will probably be home soon, and Ulquiorra's bound to show up eventually, so we should finish, yes?" Nodding, the older woman agreed. But then she frowned, a thought striking her.

"I was actually a little surprised," she was addressing Isshin again, "that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow weren't invited to the little beach party your son is attending." She was frowning now and the tall man furrowed his eyebrows.

"I… didn't realize they were getting along…?" Now it was Harribel's turn to furrow her eyebrows.

"I… just assumed considering that Ulquiorra and Miss Inoue are… dating that they had been accepted into Ichigo's little group." Isshin was suddenly taken aback, making it obvious that this information was new to him. It was then that the older woman's features changed from ones of puzzlement to unease, her hand going to her mouth. "It's not common knowledge? Maybe I wasn't supposed to say anything…" She shrugged and Yuzu raised one eyebrow.

"Ulquiorra and Orihime are dating?" the youngest was obviously skeptical and Harribel shrugged. "But… they're so opposite?" Again, the taller blonde could offer no insight.

"He doesn't say a whole lot about it, but I suppose _now_ that makes sense. Although he isn't usually one for secrets… Well I suppose whatever makes them more comfortable." She didn't seem all that entirely upset about spilling the beans, and Isshin was grinning slightly. Yuzu had the funny feeling she'd done it on purpose.

"Well now we can ask him about it at dinner," Yuzu started, "but first we have to… have to…" It was the strangest feeling she'd ever felt in her life. Even more bizarre then the first time she'd encountered a hollow. Cocking her head to the side, she dropped her mouth slightly.

"Yuzu?" Isshin questioned, slightly uneasy when she didn't answer him. She didn't respond when Harribel stepped up behind her either, the woman's finely manicured hand resting on her shoulder as she stared down at her cooking companion.

"I…" Eyes widening, the younger blonde suddenly placed her hand on her chest. "I can't breathe," she blurted though it was obvious to both adults that she was having no problems doing so as her breath was coming and going in huge quantities as she suddenly started heaving in and out. "I can't breathe," she said again, her voice higher pitched and more frantic. Rushing up the stairs to her side, her father gripped her by the shoulders just as she started shaking and trembling violently.

"What's happen…ing…" Cocking her head to the side, Isshin watched as Tia blinked rapidly, her pupils dilating strangely as her mouth dropped open, rendering her unable to finish her question. There was a blankness that suddenly overcame her expression, her eyes appearing distant as she stared at nothing. Her body swayed back and forth as though she were in a trance.

The father couldn't focus on her though.

Yuzu had dropped to her knees, her quaking hands gripping at the porch desperately, almost as though she were looking for something. And when she failed to find it, she cried out sharply, tears pouring down her cheeks as she continued to sweep at the floor.

"Yuzu!" she hadn't heard him. It had dropped. She had heard the hallow thud against the ground. She had to find it, but it was rolling away and she was blind. It felt like half her entire body had fallen away, been cut off violently and without any warning.

Eyes widening, her voice cracked as she let out another whimpering sound, her own tears clogging her breathing now. But she felt so empty! Something had vanished! Something very important!

She _had_ to find it!

"**Yuzu**!" he bellowed in her ear and she broke down further in reply, her entire body shivering as surge after surge of unending fear coursed through her veins. "God dammit, tell me what's wrong!"

"Karin," Tia had bent down next to him, her nose only inches from his own. The firmness of her voice had drawn his attention, but horror had settled on her face and was flashing through her eyes. "It's Karin!" she repeated a little louder.

And then he felt it too.

**oOo**

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo burst through the door, his zanpakuto released to Bankai, his brown eyes searching the room frantically for answers. Rukia and Renji followed just after, both of them wearing the trademark black of the shinigami as well. "Where's my sister?"

"Stop yelling!" his father commanded harshly as he rounded a corner, his captain's robe spotted with red even as he wore it. "You're not going to be able to do anything by acting like an idiot!" No one objected despite the fact that the Kurosaki father's tone was much the same as his sons had been.

Gulping, Ichigo stared his father down with wide eyes, determined to get answers. He hadn't sensed what had happened himself, but Rukia could only tell him something terrible had transpired. And as he had run closer to town, he'd realized that one of the key reiatsu's that were constantly hiding in the back of his mind had vanished.

"What can I do?" Orihime burst through the three shinigami just as Uryu had placed her on the ground. They were followed by Chad and Tatsuki. Stumbling forward, she almost ran headlong into Ichigo's father. Probably would have been a bad idea considering the tense way he placed himself in the room, but she honestly didn't care.

Unlike Rukia, she'd sensed more than just the one pressure drop. There had been three other's on varying levels. Three that she also knew besides Karin though the younger girls had been the most significant as it had disappeared entirely. She needed to see them all, Karin, Lilynette, Grimmjow, _and_ Ulquiorra.

"The first thing everyone needs to do is calm down," Urahara stepped into the room, his face shadowed and graced with a deep frown. Ichigo looked about to object, but the store owner quickly shot him down. "Sit down Ichigo," his gaze flicked back and forth between Renji and Rukia. They got the message despite the way their hearts jumped to their throats. The taller redhead took the younger shinigami by the upper arm, his petite colleague taking his other hand in her own as they firmly but gently eased the panicking man to the ground. He had paled considerably, his lips pursed in a tight line, eyes wide and alert.

"Orihime," the blonde man turned to her. "The others are in the back room. Please tend to them now, quickly, before Grimmjow's brain falls out of his skull." Nodding despite how she paled at the man's comical yet serious evaluation of the sixths condition, the redhead turned on a dime and disappeared further into the building.

He turned back to the others.

"I'm going to tell you straight off what happened," his gaze focused in on Ichigo, "and I expect that emotions will be kept under control until I'm finished." Rukia could feel Ichigo's hand shaking beneath hers and she squeezed it tighter, reassuringly. Though she felt in the pit of her stomach that in a few seconds no reassurance of any kind would help. "First off," Urahara stuck his cane on the ground directly in front of him, "Karin Kurosaki is dead."

Isshin flinched and whipped around, emotionally injured, and headed to the back room.

There was silence. Both Renji and Rukia had felt Ichigo's breath catch in his throat. They'd seen the way his eyes had widened, how his mouth had parted slightly, his skin turning clammy and pale.

But before the news could sink in much further, the blonde man continued.

"But we were able to save her." There was a pause when mouths dropped open and eyebrows furrowed, all except Ichigo who released his breath with a shudder, his face contorting into a tortured kind of relief. People die, it's a fact of life, but to be told that you'd lost a loved one and then that they had somehow been brought back? It was the dream of every human being alive that had lost people dear to them. They were the words everyone wanted to hear, but never did.

The Kurosaki family was lucky.

"What happened?" the strawberry croaked, his throat thick with emotion.

"Grimmjow, Lilynette, Ulquiorra, and your sister were struck down in the street," it sounded like some drive by shooting. Unfortunately the comparison was a little too close for comfort. "It was a hollow, and it was deliberate." The green clad man sighed before delving into the meat of the situation. "None of them can say what happened; their human minds could not comprehend the speed with which this assassin moved. But it's safe to say that their aim was true, they were trying to get to Karin."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, the same question running through his head as it was everyone else's. Why Karin?

"Their intent was to turn her into a hollow," he sighed, it had been a long night and it was only getting longer. "Though they wanted to do it via the human world. Devouring her would not have served their purpose for she would have become nothing but a remnant of _that_ hollow."

"What purpose?" Ichigo questioned quickly.

"This is all inference, but I think it's safe to say they were trying to get to you, Ichigo." Shoulders sinking, the older brother paled once again, his eyes drifting to the floor. "I don't know why they would wish to cause such emotional turmoil for you, but that appears to have been their goal. They wanted your sister to become a hollow, to force you to fight her, destroy her, any number of things.

"It was all very precise. They knocked her soul out of her body and broke the soul chain. Had she been killed while still in her body, she probably would have ascended like your average soul, especially with her knowledge of the afterlife. But because her body and soul were separated, this created the loophole in forcing her to become a hollow."

"Break the soul chain and it devours itself, eventually forming a hollow…" closing his eyes tightly, the young shinigami attempted to control the waves of guilt and shame sweeping over him.

"Exactly," the blonde man affirmed. "You all must understand that there are very finite rules to death. Generally when the body dies, the soul will die, or ascend, as well. Then of course you have the cases where the body dies first and the soul remains, or ghosts. The reiatsu that had once inhabited that person is released when the body breathes its last breath, hence they may remain in the real world without the remaining parts of the soul chain disappearing, they have no reiatsu, nothing to eat away at it. Then you have the cases where the soul was separated from the body before the body was dead, when the soul chain is broken prematurely. Their reiatsu did not have a proper release, thus it remained in their spiritual being, unstable and uncontrollable.

"When this happens, the hollowfication process begins. These are the souls that will cling to people, objects, places, as a last resort in trying to sustain their humanity. Unconsciously they can feel the change coming and they strive to remain as close to living as possible. Eventually, after years, they will begin to go insane and then turn into hollows. This was what our attackers were trying to achieve with your sister, only faster.

"You see, the higher the reiatsu, the faster the deterioration process. Your average human will have almost none, not because they cannot access any, but because they cannot harness it. Shinigami have such high reiatsu because their souls unconsciously pull it in and _make_ it their own. It is not the amount of reiatsu you have that makes you powerful, but the sheer amount that you can carry within your spiritual body. Your being acts like a filter, changing that raw material into something you can use, your personal power. You gather reiatsu twenty-four seven just by simply 'breathing' it in. Being able to hold that inside is where shinigami get the power they do.

"Notice Ichigo that before you knew how to control your own reiatsu, it splashed out of you in huge quantities. Your soul was taking in gracious amounts with every 'breath,' but throwing it away just as quickly. Normal humans, or plus in the afterlife, are containers equivalent to that of a carton of milk, but shinigami are containers equal to that of _oceans_ in comparison to how many spirit particles they can harness. Flesh and blood makes this difficult as it acts as a barrier between our souls and the outside world, hence you don't get humans with shinigami powers running around very often.

"Obviously there are exceptions. You were half shinigami before becoming a full one, your body was more porous to spirit particles, so you could see ghosts and other things. This is also why when Rukia tried to give you only half her power, you took all of it; she was not anticipating the amount at which you were able to sponge out of her. It doesn't help that you are the spawn of a man with exceptionally high reiatsu either, and a mother with higher than normal for a humans' as well.

"Because Rukia gave you the ability to temporarily harness spirit particles using her condensed version of the same thing, the result when shinigami filter the particles, your abilities opened up similar valves on your friends. You see, humans are always retrieving and leaking spirit energy, but when the energy being leaked has been changed into the hardened form that shinigami use, it will have effects on the normal humans 'breathing' it in. If you'd had a formal education on how to control your reiatsu like all other shinigami, you wouldn't have leaked so much, and your friends never would have awakened the powers that they did.

"Quincy are very much the opposite. In a way, they have the lowest amount of reiatsu of all the humans in the world because they don't 'breathe' it in and out as normal humans do. Humans have a small container, Shinigami have a filter and a large container, Quincy have a mirror and a tiny container, one only just big enough to allow them to sustain life. They pull reiatsu from the atmosphere purposefully and reflect it back in the form of areal weapons. Reiatsu in the air 'bounces' off of them in a sense, being reproduced in its raw form. That's why their choice of weapon is a bow and arrow. They have no need to form any concrete shape for any length of time. Being humans, this would be difficult. But arrows are quick and to the point, unlike swords which use hand to hand combat and, in essence, more time.

"But that's all a little beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that your sisters are also half shinigami, thus if the chain of fate were broken, like it was in your case and Karin's, they would become hollows much, _much_ faster because you 'breathe' in so much more reiatsu than your average person. That was why your deterioration only took a few days as opposed to years."

"So are you saying that Karin will have to go through the same thing that I did?" The thought was not comforting to Ichigo _at all_. Because of that transformation, he'd become part hollow. Karin… Karin couldn't…

"No," he stated. "The reason we performed your transformation the way we did was because it was urgent that you get on your feet and fighting. The hollowfication aided in that process because it granted you more power than if you'd just been transformed into a regular shinigami. Hollows eat souls to survive, so being part of that could only aid you in your ability to consume reiatsu. That was why you were so powerful even without using Bankai. None of your shinigami abilities had been developed when you became a shinigami for the second time. It was your hollow attributes that allowed you to swing your sword with such strength despite the fact that you were throwing reiatsu around like it was candy. You consumed enough to make up for the loss. You didn't develop at all during the short time you were a shinigami via Rukia, which would have been normal in the shinigami world. You didn't have enough time under your belt to accomplish anything. Yes, you stood up against a captain and a lieutenant, but with only the abilities of a very low grade shinigami with _a lot_ of talent. Plus they had power limiters in place. But as soon as you went through the holowfication process…"

"He gained strength at an enormous rate," Rukia muttered.

"And with the gifts you inherited from your father, well, all of that makes up who you are today. But your sister is not in the dire straits that you were. It was really quite easy to reverse the hollowfication process for your sister since she managed to get here before the process was too far along. I simply had to create a door to soul society that would have the same effect as a konso only instead of throwing the soul into soul society, she was able to turn around and come back here as a plus.

"If any regular old plus did that, they'd be unable to survive here due to the low reiatsu in the real world compared to the world of the dead, both hollow and shinigami planes, and they'd disappear into nothing. But I knew that your sister had inherited the same gifts you had, so bringing her back here wasn't that big a risk. She will sleep a lot at first, but once we start developing the shinigami container inside her, she'll be able to maintain herself better because she'll be able to control her reiatsu. Human _bodies_ contain souls so they can exist in the barren world of the living, but a plus in this world would be disastrous. They have no protection against the emptiness of the air here, thus their spirits would seek to fill the empty gaps and would separate. But my training area is stocked full of spirit particles and once she becomes a fully fledged shinigami she'll be able to-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Ichigo closed his eyes as he tried to comprehend all the information thrown at him. "Are you saying my sister has to become a _fully fledged_ shinigami to survive here? But she's only thirteen?"

"Well if she wants to be able to live in the world of the living and feel like she can breathe properly, yes," Urahara confirmed, sounding a little irritated. "It would be best if she could attain Bankai in a reasonable amount of time," all three shinigami gaped. "But how fast her training goes is completely up to her and her father. Obviously, as you well know Ichigo, I have developed techniques that hasten a shinigami's learning curve by hundreds, and I have no doubts that your sister would be successful with these, she is just as gifted as you are, but it's still something that must be explained and discussed with her."

"Why not just let her go to Soul Society and train there as a normal shinigami?" Rukia questioned, her eyebrows furrowed. "If she's a plus then… that would be the normal thing to do. We have the technology to go back and forth between the worlds; she could visit whenever she wanted I'm sure, especially considering her family. So why would…?" Urahara frowned; he was hoping that by some miracle they would glance over that small detail.

"Well, the thing about that," the blonde man sighed, "Soul Society would have to then be alerted as to what happened. They would then know that some of the more intelligent hollows were acting out against us for… well, apparently they're acting out against Ichigo and the other Espada now in human form. All these things would cause great distress among Soul Society. Not to mention they're already uneasy about Ichigo's power, they don't need to know that it's causing more problems, if you catch my understanding."

"In other words you want to try and figure this out before Soul Society gets involved," Rukia summed up, her voice cold and suspicious. "And keep the Espada here hidden."

"They always make everything _so_ much more difficult," the scientist sounded exasperated. "Not to mention Karin is an exceptionally talented pupil. It'd be like a genius taking classes for the average Joe. Ichigo would have experienced much the same thing had he attended normal shinigami schooling, well, except for when it came to Kidou based power. I must say Ichigo, were it not for your hollowfication, your sister may very well have surpassed you. She has the gift of intuition that both you and your father lack. Not only does she have physical power, but Kidou will be a strength of hers as well.

"So _why_ **not** have her train with us then? She'll have some of the best teachers in the entire world, ex-captains that specialize in their abilities. She will better most other shinigami in a matter of months where it would have taken them years, if she so chooses. I don't see the point in letting her talent go to waste."

"There's something in this for you," Ichigo stated with a blank stare. He wanted to know what. This had to do with his sister after all and he wasn't about to let some sneaky shop keeper use her without his knowing about it.

"Actually," Urahara glanced down at the floor, his eyes suddenly sad, "I'm willing to go to these lengths for your father." Glancing up again, he smiled slightly. "I owe him a lot you see, I have wronged him severally, so keeping an eye on his daughters' wellbeing and offering her a high class education is only a minor way in which I can repay him." All the inhabitants of the room appeared confused, but none dared ask. It was in the past, a past that was none of their business. "Not to mention what you've gone through because of me Ichigo."

"Alright then," Ichigo sniffed, ignoring the impromptu apology. "It's up to Karin then, so can we see her?" Urahara nodded. "And this attack…" Ichigo didn't really want to bring this up, but he felt he had to, for his family's sake. "It wasn't caused by, you know, Grimmjow and them leaking reiatsu or…"

"No, it was not," the blonde man replied, his eyes civil despite what was probably an offensive concern. "Like I said, it was deliberate. Karin was the target." Nodding once, Ichigo got to his feet. Urahara stepped aside and gestured towards the back room. Ichigo didn't hesitate as he walked past the blonde man, Rukia at his side.

**oOo**

"Are you sure you're alright?" nodding again, the woman closed her eyes tighter, pain apparent in every crease of her face. Frowning, Orihime rose to her feet with a sigh. For whatever reason, her attempt to heal Harribel's headache had failed. She managed to patch Grimmjow's cracked skull back together, heal the surface wounds Ulquiorra had accumulated, and mend both Lilynette's broken legs. She'd even managed to patch up the wound on Karin's body, yet she couldn't remedy a headache.

Strange.

Glancing to her left, she spotted Ichigo sitting with his sisters, both of them leaning against his sides as he cradled them protectively. One was tear streaked and red, her flour dusted dress powdering the floor. The other was clad in a white robe, her face pale, her mouth open as she breathed in and out slowly, her inhales sometimes ragged. Every time this happened, she saw their older brother tense, but then she'd return to normal and his shoulders would sink slightly though he never took his eyes off her.

Isshin stood to the right of them, his arms crossed, eye narrowed as he stared at them. He was obviously deep in thought, though his gaze would occasionally soften with worry as he stared at them. His children, all together, yet so very broken.

Rukia sat on the left right next to Karin, her hand rubbing the younger girls back as she slept. A calming technique. The dark haired shinigami had been fitful in her sleep, but hadn't had the energy to stay awake for very long, not this soon after the konso. But with Rukia's encouragement and her brother's embrace she'd managed to calm a little.

It was a sad sight really, and Orihime diverted her gaze to the other side of the room.

It wasn't a whole lot happier though.

Grimmjow lay on his side, a scowl imprinted on his features. He'd been passed out when she'd come to heal him and had remained so ever since. Lilynette sat at his head, legs crossed as she toyed with his hair, her expression one of uncertainty. Ulquiorra sat to the left, his gaze generally downcast, but he'd glance up every once in a while and catch her eye. They dared not approach each other, not in this delicate situation. There was enough emotional drama going on anyway, they didn't need to add more to it.

Nel sat in his left, one of his pale hands in her lap as she toyed nervously with his fingers. She'd been glancing apprehensively at Ichigo the whole time, her young face turned downward. She wanted to go to him, but knew that it wasn't her place to do so. She had seen him a few times since they'd moved in, but only minutes at a time, mostly when he was dealing with his two sisters. Orihime understood how attached she was to the shinigami, but the little girl had turned timid at the sight of the twins that were so attached to him. It was only a matter of time though before the little girl got over that.

Starrk stood directly behind Lilynette protectively; his arms crossed much like Isshin's, his eyes thoughtful. Occasionally he'd glanced over the mismatched family and frown, but other than that he'd said nothing.

And then there was Harribel. She had seated herself in the chair right between the two families, her head in her hands as she battled with an unmanageable headache, one that she refused to talk about.

The redhead pouted.

**oooooooooooooooooo**

ZOMG! So I don't know how many of you read the new bleach updates, but I don't know how I'm going to fit all of Ichigo's badassery into this story. I honestly think he's going to die or lose all his power, probably the latter. I have a theory that that is what happened to Isshin. He used the final getsuga and lost his power. But at least we know he can get it back, lolz. Either way, the ending to Bleach will be 1, ignored for this story if I have no other choice or 2, worked in somehow. We'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

Sigh, I hate how Ichigo is always one extreme or the other. Can't he just beat the enemy in a normal way and go home happy? Of course not. But Kubo stays true to the long hair theory. Ichigo now has the longest hair out of everyone and is the most badass.

ANYWAY! Enough about Bleach the real thing and onto my comments about the story.

Harribel is back, snap! But what happened to her? I dunno, guess we'll just have to wait and see. And what's up with her head? All kinds of weird stuff happening there, hum.

Oh my god, this the first time I've ever killed a character! Oh wait, never mind, it's impossible to kill anyone in Bleach, what was I thinking? That's the good thing about that manga, fans can always bring people back one way or another, you just have to be creative like I was! Or use really big paragraphs that are filled with a whole bunch of stuff I made up! I liked my analysis of dying though, I had fun writing it, and if it contradicts anything already in Bleach then let me know, though I'm sure I can somehow make it work with more explaining, LOL!

In any case, poor Karin, but I has big plans for her. I already have the name of her Zanpakuto and everything, woos. But what will poor Lilynette do now that her best friend is going to be training in all her spare time… hmmm… I wonder…

I know I said there was going to be action and I'M SORRY I LIED! Originally there was going to be this big scene… oh wait, that's right, I can't tell you cuz I'm going to stick it in later, WOOPS! Anyway, it was more drama than anything, but I hope there aren't any mixed feelings about Karin's death. Everyone wanted her to become a shinigami anyway, right? Of course. Now she can be a prodigy just like **Toshiro**… I mean… what? Who's _that_ guy and is he going to be in the story? Well I just don't know…

A lot happened in this chapter actually, hmmm, is there anything else I can tease you all about? OH YEAH! What do you all think of the new summary? Foreshadowing no? Think about it…

Sorry Nel is like never in the story, I'll try and find a place to fit her, but every time I try is seems out of place. Oh well.

Maybe some Ulquihime next chapter, probably.

Hopefully there wasn't too much in this chapter, I know a lot happened.

Hope you liked.

Love from me to you to Timbuktu (see, I'm trying to be creative here, but it's so hard for me, that's why I'm going to art school, lolz!)

Toodles!


	11. How Good You Are For Me

**The Definition of Love**

_"I wanna **lock** you up in my closet, where no one's around  
I wanna put your hand in my pocket, because you're allowed  
I wanna drive you into the **corner**, and **kiss** you **without a sound**  
I wanna **stay** this way **forever**, I'll say it loud  
Now you're **in** and you can't get **out**_

_You make me so **hot**  
Make me wanna **drop**  
You're so ridiculous  
I can **barely stop**  
I can **hardly breathe**  
You make me wanna **scream**  
You're so fabulous  
You're so **good** to me Baby"_

**_Hot - Avril Lavigne_**

**Chapter 11: How Good You Are For Me**

"You are distressed?" glancing up at him out of the corner of her eye, the redhead considered whether or not to answer. Yes, she was in fact "distressed" as he so put it, but telling him why might only aggravate him.

"Kind of yes," she stated vaguely and stared back out across the lot. It was midnight, the stars twinkling mischievously above them. There was a silence in the air, a waiting kind of anxiety. No bugs chirped, no birds hooted, it was dead across Karakura. The only thing that allowed them some comfort was the light breeze that echoed through the ally of Urahara's shop.

"May I inquire as to why that is?" his voice was soft and velvety, just like always. His calm exterior brought her comfort. No matter the situation, he never seemed stressed or overly emotional, he handled himself to the coldest degree, and during nights like their current, she appreciated it.

"I suppose," she breathed. "Although I figured it was pretty obvious. I mean, you were all attacked by a hollow that none of us were able to catch. There are just so many weird things going on and I..."

"What?"

"Promise you won't get mad?" He didn't reply, his green eyes staring her down. He would promise nothing, but she would tell him anyway. "It's just... I worry..." He waited patiently for her to continue. "Look at what happened last time," she turned to face him, her lips downturned. "It only took seconds and you were... and this last time Karin and Grimmjow and Lilynette... and you... what if this happens again and no one is here to help? What if we don't make it in time?"

"You are worried about the wellbeing of us weaker individuals?" his tone had turned a few degrees colder. He was offended by her concerns, as she thought he would be. But he wanted her to be honest so she attempted as much. Whenever she tried to hide what she was feeling he got frustrated and worked up, and she hated seeing him like that.

"That's one way to put it," she confirmed with a sigh. "And don't tell me not to 'waste my thoughts on such things.' I can't help it. And I have every reason to worry. Urahara himself said you guys draw hollows like crazy, it's only a matter of time before..."

"I thought you were a positive thinker."

"This isn't funny Ulquiorra!" she snapped suddenly and he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. "Maybe _you_ don't value your own life, but _I_ do!" Pursing her lips, she tried her best to reign back in her emotions. Sighing, she rubbed her temples. She didn't want to yell at him, but sometimes...

"I do not find anything about this to be humorous," he stated shortly, obviously not taking kindly to her outburst. "I do not enjoy being thrown around like a rag-doll or blown up, but there is nothing I can do about it, so why worry myself with it."

"Because," she turned away from him, her gaze once again sifting over the lot, "if you choose to not care, it means you're not even _trying_ to prevent it." She saw his shoulders stiffen, he was angry with her now.

"How am I supposed to prevent it?" he hissed. "I can't even sense them coming, how could I possibly go about finding a way to-"

"I don't know!" she interrupted, her head gripped between her hands in frustration. "I don't know, I don't know…" she repeated, her body sinking to the ground till she was in a crouch, her breath skipping as she tried to reel in her emotions.

Ulquiorra felt all the tension leave his body, his concern level for her rising considerably. Bending down next to her, he placed a steady hand on her back. Her hair dragged across the ground as her body shook with shivering breaths. She wasn't crying, but he wished she would instead of holding it in. She tried to be strong for reasons that were absurd.

"You should worry less about me," he started, his voice hardly a whisper, "and think more of yourself. Look at you, you're falling apart." He heard her laugh lightly, her breathing quickly resembling that of something normal.

"How can I possibly worry less about you?" her voice was strained and tight, but soft as a winds sigh. One of her fingers drew circles in the dirt, her nail shining in the moonlight. "Every night…" she closed her eyes and shook her head. "The closer I get to you, the more time we spend together, the more frequent it gets. The nightmares. Sometimes they're back then, when you disappeared, but they're more often than not that day… when… the hollow…"

He stiffened, his hand freezing in the up and down motions he had been applying to her back. Eyes widening, he snapped his hand back and stood, his body turning abruptly away from her. She stood as well, cocking her head curiously at him.

"I apologize," he stated. "I had no idea that your being with me caused you pain. If that is the case then I will-"

"Oh stop," she reprimanded. He felt her arms snake around his back, her soft touch warming him in the cool night. Hesitantly, he placed his hands over hers as her chest pressed against his spine. "You're such a drama queen." He cringed at the thought. She'd called him that once before and he'd then asked for an explanation. Needless to say he didn't like being labeled as such. "It doesn't matter if you leave me or not, I'd still worry, and I'd still have nightmares. They're just becoming more frequent because…"

"Because?" he whispered.

"Because my heart… is growing more attached to you," he could feel her body warming against his. She was blushing. Turning in her embrace, he pushed her back slightly, staring down at her flushed face. Her arms remained securely around him like a shield he placed his own hands atop her waist.

"How attached?" he asked quietly and leaned his forehead against hers. She laughed, her silver eyes crinkling at the sides merrily. He loved to see her like this. Happy. And more so when he was involved.

"It's not something you can measure silly," she replied. He pulled her closer to him, his arms forming a wrap around her thin back. "I just… I just wish there was a way I could be with you all the time. And not for lovey-dovey reasons either. If I was there with you at all times then… then I could stop what happened today from happening again." He blinked and she continued. "Sometimes I wish… I wish you were a hollow again, so I'd know nothing could hurt you…"

Startled, he furrowed his eyebrows and removed his head from hers, cocking it to the side.

"You would want to see that… part of me again?" shaking his head faintly, he separated from her and took a step away. "Why would you ever… wish that?" Furrowing her own brows, the redhead considered his words.

"Because you were stronger then and-"

"I was a monster then," he interjected coldly as he stared down at his hand, flexing it. "You are beyond me. You wish for things that I would rather forget, more so for _your_ sake than mine own." She stared at the ground, considering his speech.

"Ulquiorra…" she came up next to him and clasped his hand in her own, "you were not monster. Hollow's themselves aren't monsters. Actions are what make us monsters. Maybe you did some things you regret, hopefully," pause, "but you've tried to get past that now. That makes you human, not monster. Even if you were a hollow, the fact that you're trying to be a good person is what counts."

"You are wrong," he said firmly, quietly. "All hollows are monsters. You did not live among them Woman, live the life of one. There are horrors you cannot even fathom that they can commit, that I… committed. You can try and sugar coat it as much as you like, but it will still be a lie. All hollow seeks to destroy lives, and that's just the way it is. They are evil and always will be."

"That's not true," she murmured, hurt that he had implied she was severely deluded or naïve. "You understood the concept of a heart…"

"I did not," he answered. "I still believe that I do not. And if I were a hollow then my understanding would be even less. There is a gnawing at your soul when you are a hollow, something you could not comprehend. It tells you to kill and destroy until you create a world where you are alone, where you reign absolute, and even then it tells you ravage and purge and murder. It is mindless and pointless, and leaves no room for hearts and absurd notions of such."

"You're bitter tonight," she sighed as she hugged his arm, slightly annoyed. "If you don't believe in hearts _still_," even though she knew the truth was otherwise, "then what did you mean when you said you held your heart in your hand?" He flinched and focused anywhere but her.

"I don't know what I meant," he stated firmly, trying to sound resolute. Loosening her grip on him, she stepped in front of him, her fingers clasped around his lower arms. Smiling slightly, she was glad when he turned up to stare at her.

"I think you did," she whispered mischievously, "you just don't want to admit it." He blinked. Releasing his left arm, she placed her finger on his chest. "You're afraid," she hummed with a frown, her stern gaze focused on her own finger. "You said it was in your hands because you were afraid of letting it control you. That's why you asked me whether I was afraid, whether you should be too. If something is in your hands then you can dominate it. You didn't want to die out of control, but the heart cannot _be_ controlled. It's something you have to take in you and let flow. I said I wasn't afraid because I know to let my heart lead me. Maybe it will lead to a world of hurt, but I'm willing to take that chance because I know the alternative is something… something amazing."

"Amazing?" he mumbled. "Perhaps my heart doesn't belong to me, perhaps I _do_ belong to it, but I know that it _can_ be controlled." She glanced up at him quickly, her frown creasing more deeply. "_You_ can control it," he started. "My heart that is. It doesn't belong to me because it belongs to you," her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. "Everything you do, everything you say, everything you feel, it has a greater effect on me every day. And with every word you say, you have more control over me. My heart feels whatever you do and it is becoming a constant thing more and more… I do not understand why…"

She smiled. "It's that amazing thing I was talking about," she replied and hugged him around his middle, her smile sparkling. "You'll get it soon enough. But if I have to take your heart," she sighed as if the task were tedious, "then you have to take mine. Too much weight to haul around if I have two."

"I cannot," he interjected quickly, seriously. "Do not entrust me with something like that Woman. It is not a risk you should take." She laughed despite how severe his face was.

"You just took the same risk," she stated. "And if you can then I can. If I have the power to break your heart, then you have the power to break mine too. It's the way things are _supposed_ to work. I can't help it any more than you can anyway. My heart is yours now, and you're just going to have to deal with it."

"You can have it back whenever you wish," he decided quickly. "I fear mine will forever belong to you, but I will try not to lock yours down so securely. Though I guess that is not something I can control. You should be wary of how imbedded it becomes." She laughed again and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're so silly," she stated with a broadening smile. "And I'm sure you have no idea how romantic you're being right now." He cocked his head to the side. "But that's alright, it makes it all the more adorable, and you're doing it more often too."

"It is never my intention. I will try to stop," she giggled again, apparently finding his attempt to be for naught. He didn't quite understand what it was he was doing anyway, so she was probably right. He couldn't stop doing something if he didn't know when he was doing it. "Just hold on to mine."

"What?" she frowned suddenly.

"My heart, please hold on to it," he stared down at her, his hands clasping her neck so he could caress her cheeks with his thumbs softly. "I fear I will lose it otherwise, and I would truly prefer not to do so." Her lips parted slightly, thoughtfully. "These… emotions that come with it drive me crazy, but it is better than what I was before. I would prefer this confusion forever to the emptiness that used to plague me. You could not possibly understand what it is like to feel absolutely nothing, it's… indescribable. That is why I never wish to be a hollow again, being so brings out the worst in people. It would… cause me to lose sight of my heart… I think…"

She closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace.

"I will," she whispered. "And if you ever forget, I'll remind you." He sighed and leaned closer to her, their foreheads touching once again. She sighed against his chin and he closed his eyes, the moonlight hardly able to cast light between them. Running his hands along her scalp, he slowly and thoroughly threaded her soft orange locks through his fingers. It was a habit he'd come upon more and more often as of late. Leaning forward more, he breathed out softly against her lips when she hummed against him.

"I love," he sounded extremely distracted, "your hair."

She laughed happily against him.

**oOo**

He was disgusted. He was annoyed. He was angry. But most of all?

He was _ashamed_.

Gripping his blue head between his hands, he closed his eyes tightly in the dark, his teeth crushed together as he held back a growl of outrage. There were others sleeping in the room, Kurosaki's sister more specifically, and if he woke her up then he really _would_ be a failure.

Kurosaki's sister…

Lilynette…

Ulquiorra…

He had failed them all.

Of course he'd been alerted to what had happened, that Karin was going to be alright to a certain extent, but that her life would never be the same. She'd have to enter into the same world as her brother. _His_ world.

No.

_They're_ world. One that he was no longer a part of.

It didn't matter though. In fact, that was the whole problem. If he was still a hollow, still an Espada, then he could have prevented what happened. Karin would have been safe, Lilynette unharmed, and Ulquiorra as well.

But he hadn't even seen it coming! If he was still Number Six, if he still had control over Pantera, then there was no way that hollow would have gotten by. It would have been destroyed by his very own hands. Anyone that threatened his family would be. He wouldn't stand for it. He didn't want to at least.

But what could he do?

Squat, that's what.

He'd been blown away by that invader, nearly killed, and in only a few seconds to boot. This human body could do nothing worthwhile. He was sitting duck. And if he was such, then the rest of his family was too. How was he supposed to stop anything from happening if he couldn't even help himself? It wasn't fair. Was he supposed to just stand there and watch more people be killed? Get blown away? He couldn't.

He had to do something.

What if those stupid hollow came after Yuzu next? Or Lilynette? Or Nel or Starrk or Harribel or Ulquiorra? None of them stood a chance. They'd be killed just like Karin. The only reason the little girl had survived like she had was because her father had shown up two seconds later and thrown them all into Urahara's shop.

But what if he wasn't there? Just like Kurosaki hadn't been there?

He didn't like depending on the shinigami, but in his current condition, he had little choice…

Dammit!

What could his human body do?

Orihime, Uryu, Chad, they were all strong enough to take on Espada. And they were humans. There had to be a way. If he exposed himself to Kurosaki's reiatsu long enough? No, the shinigami would never do that, the last thing the strawberry wanted was for Grimmjow to regain any of his powers.

But there _had_ to be something! This human body had to be capable of doing at least basic things. Perhaps that was where he would start. He'd train up his human body first. He was already light years ahead of most people, but training never hurt. Maybe he could get Ulquiorra to do it with him; the fourth couldn't be feeling much better about this whole thing.

It was a start he supposed…

With those thoughts in mind, the sixth leaned back across his cot, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared up at the ceiling unhappily for the remainder of the night.

**oOo**

"She'll be fine," the petite shinigami insisted as he sat down on his bed, head in his hands. "Renji is standing patrol tonight at Urahara's. Don't worry, if anything happens, he'll catch it." Nodding slowly, the orange haired teenager glanced up, his tired gaze focusing on Rukia.

"I know you're right," he reflected, "but I can't help it." She frowned and sat next to him, the mattress barely moving under her light weight. "It's just so… I mean Karin? A shinigami? That… shouldn't even be allowed."

"She had to grow up sometime Ichigo."

"Yeah, a hundred years from now!" he exclaimed angrily. "When she had died of old age, not… not now…" Furrowing her eyebrows, the dark haired woman placed a hand on his arm.

"Think of it this way Ichigo," she started. "Now nothing can happen to her. She'll have the power to protect herself soon and those hollows won't go near her. You won't have to worry." The taller scoffed.

"I'll always worry," he stated softly and turned to her, a grateful smile echoing his lips. "But maybe you're right. This way she can protect Yuzu too, and her friend Lilynette." The orange haired man laughed once, "And Grimmjow and Ulquiorra too." Rukia smiled lightly, her teeth revealing themselves momentarily before hiding once again behind a curious expression. Ichigo frowned.

"Have you noticed…?" she put her finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Have you noticed that Orihime and Ulquiorra talk… a lot…?" Furrowing his eyebrows, the younger shinigami tried his best to recall what his friend was referring to, but wasn't having much luck.

"Can't say I have," he decided. "I mean, they sit next to each other so… they might talk more often than…" He shrugged and Rukia sighed in annoyance. He glared at her.

"Him and Grimmjow never say more than two words to each other and they sit next to each other," she argued.

"They hate each other," Ichigo fired back skeptically.

"_We_ sit next to each other and _we_ hardly talk," she tried again and he reared back suddenly, his gaze becoming suspicious.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked quickly, sounding almost suspicious. "It's not my fault you're always ignoring me." He was talking extra fast and her lips formed into an irritated line.

"Don't get so worked up," he huffed. "If you're really that upset about it then I'll make a better effort to talk to you, but you always look so mad I figure you'll just snap at me." Folding her arms over her chest, she looked away, her nose in the air haughtily. Frowning, the other felt his heart rate slow back to its normal pace.

"It doesn't matter," he stated monotonously and looked away, missing the momentarily hurt look that flashed across her face. "There's never anything to talk about anyway." They were silent for a few more moments before the younger glanced back to his female companion. "I wanted to thank you, by the way," he started. "You told me about Karin, and if it hadn't been for you I probably wouldn't have noticed till way later."

"Don't mention it," she added with a shrug.

"I wouldn't," he replied, "but I owe you a thank you, she's my sister after all." Frowning, the shorter slumped, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"Is everything always duty to you?" it was a mutter, but he'd heard it and frowned.

"What?" he furrowed his eyebrows angrily. "I'm trying to thank you and this is the attitude you give me? Fuck, I'll just stop talking to you altogether then. I swear, whenever I say anything to you all I ever get back is-"

"Okay I get it," she snapped and he halted in his speech, his lips shut tightly. "_You're_ _welcome_." It was obviously lacking heart, but she was doing her best. But sometimes he drove her crazy…

He sighed.

"I also want to thank you for something else," she sank ever lower, obviously unhappy. "And I'm not going to do it just because I feel I have to," he cleared up quickly and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I just," he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I wanted to thank you for… for being my voice of reason." Straightening, she sat up, her head cocked to the side curiously. "You're always there whenever I'm… freaking out… and without you I don't know what I'd do so… thanks… I guess." She seemed to ponder his words before glancing up at the ceiling.

"Well," she smiled deviously, "what can I say? You're there for me most of the time, and so, seeing as I have to best you in _everything_, it's only possible to do that if I'm there whenever you're 'freaking out,' which happens more often then you know might I add." He frowned at her.

"_Thanks_," he rolled his eyes. "Glad to know your hearts in it." She smiled and shrugged as though she were as innocent as a schoolgirl.

"Just returning the favor Ichigo," she stated cleverly and stuck her tongue out at him. He frowned more deeply, his shoulders slumping farther.

"I hate you sometimes," he decided.

"Good!" her voice was far too perky considering the situation. Narrowing his eyes at her, he tried to come up with something clever to say, but found nothing wandering around in his head. So he settled for a more immature action. Reaching out, he shoved her shoulder, nearly pushing her off the bed.

"Hey!" she exclaimed angrily as she caught herself on the end of the mattress. "Dumbass! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He glared harder at her as her hair bristled angrily. Returning the stare as best she could, the shorter reached out to return the gift.

But he was expecting as much from his vindictive little midget. Grabbing her by the arms before she could reach him, he smiled as she fought against him, her wrists caught between his large hands. She wasn't much of a challenge and within seconds he was pushing her backwards, her face reddening as she tried with all her strength to push him backwards.

"Damn Gigai," she muttered between clenched teeth and Ichigo grinned wickedly. He could still beat her down even if she was a shinigami, he was just _that_ fuckin' amazing. But that was one of the things he liked about her. No matter how obvious the odds, how little chance she stood, she always kept fighting.

The only time he'd ever seen her give up was when she'd been sentenced to death, and as soon as he'd rescued her, he'd made sure to scream the fight back into her. Because when she gave up…

… He gave up too.

"I know where you sleep Kurosaki," she hissed as he bent her backwards, his chest hovering dangerously close to hers. Thanks goodness she wasn't Orihime, he'd be more than embarrassed at this point.

And as that thought flashed through his head, he flushed, aware that it didn't matter who she was, her… breasts… were still only inches from his own hardened chest. Releasing the pressure on her slightly, the bed was able to relax a little.

And her eyes opened wide.

"Ichigo!" she shrieked before her body stiffened and she began falling backwards. Without anything to hold her against the bed, she was suddenly free falling. Eyes widening as well, the taller tried to once again press her to the bed, but it was too late, she was already too far over the edge.

He didn't have enough time to release her though, and instead of watching her fall from the comforts of his bed where he could laugh as he'd wanted to, he was forcefully dragged down with her, their bodies colliding with the floor in a tumble of tangled limbs.

Unconsciously, he'd reached out to buffer her fall on the way down, his hand snaking behind her head as they thumped to the ground. It may have softened her fall and shielded the back of her head, but it did nothing for supporting him.

With a swear and a thunk, his forehead collided with the hardwood floor to the right of her head, his body collapsing to cover her small frame.

He saw stars.

"Oh my god Ichigo, are you okay?" she asked immediately as he painfully removed his head from the ground. But in her haste to inquire into his health, she lifted hers too and their foreheads collided violently, Rukia's being knocked to the floor against his now bruised hand as his surged backwards.

"Fuck!" he swore as he slipped his hand from behind her head. Leaning back against the bed, he cradled his forehead with his palms, his legs stretching out before him as he cringed. That was a hard floor, and she had a hard head (but he already knew that).

"It's your fault!" she accused angrily as she rubbed her own head, her body still flat against the floor. It was then that he noticed his legs laid over her own, one leaning against her side, his big toe just barely brushing her breast. "If you hadn't been so intent on breaking my back!"

"Me?" he did his best to ignore their predicament, pushing the blush back down to his stomach in favor of putting his normally defensive demeanor in place. "You're the one that was trying to push me!"

"You pushed me first!"

"You deserved it!"

"…"

"…"

Neither looked at the other, they just remained stoic, completely intent on pretending the other didn't exist. The only movement in the room was their fingers against their aching heads.

"Ichigo?" she started after another minute. "Do you think something is going to happen?" the question caught him off guard and his silence portrayed as much. "I mean with these hollow attacks. Do you think it's something serious?" He sighed.

"I don't know," he replied quietly, his hands dropping to his sides. One landed on her ankle and he considered moving it, but instead let it rest, his fingers encompassing the soft flesh lightly. "We'll get to the bottom of it," he continued confidently. "Until then, we have to stop these attacks before they get as far as they did today."

She sighed, "Easier said than done."

**oOo**

"Oh my god this is so _lame_!" she lamented and fell back against her _one_ chair. She had the only desk set up in the entire room and it looked very silly. "Can't we get to the fun stuff yet? Like fighting and all that?" Urahara narrowed his eyes at his newest student, frowning. She was as bad as Ichigo. But he wasn't going to rush her. Direct orders from Isshin.

"No, you need to learn based on a normal shinigami curriculum," he rehearsed for the third time in the last twenty minutes. He wasn't really enjoying himself either, but she had to learn this stuff. He'd tried to get some of the others to teach her, but they had 'miraculously' vanished her first day of training so the blonde man had been stuck. "Now there are thirteen court guard squads. We'll start from number thirteen and go down this time. Number thirteen?"  
She sighed, "Captain Jushiro Ukitake. No formal Lieutenant, but it _is_ Rukia's squad."

"12?"

"Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi.

"11?"

"Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi."

"10?"

"Toshiro Hitsugaya!"

"Capain."

"Oh right," she sighed. "How did a little kid like him get to be a captain already anyway? You act like they're super powerful or something right? But he's just an elementary student…" Urahara furrowed his eyebrows curiously.

"You've met Captain Hitsugaya?" She nodded once. "Well that explains why you've been saying his name so enthusiastically…"

"Yeah, he helped my soccer team win a game against these middle schoolers and then a hollow attacked so I knew he was a shinigami. There was this other woman there, huge boobs, she's Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, right?" Her teacher grinned.

"Yes, that would be her," he replied with a laugh. "I find this all very interesting. I'm sure the little captain has told no one of his little foray with you," she glared at his use of words. "When you meet him again, make sure to use 'Captain' when you address him, he gets pretty prickly about that stuff."

"I called him Toshiro before?"

"You're a shinigami now," he reminded and she frowned. "Anyway, to address your former question, he is a bit of a genius, a prodigy if you would. But that's all you need to know, onward with the lesson. 9?"

She sighed again, "Captain Shuhei Hisagi. No formal Lieutenant."

"8?"

"Captain Shunsui Kyoraku. Lieutenant Nanao Ise.

"7?"

"Captain Sajin Komamura. Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba."

"6?"

"Captain Byakuya _Kuchiki, _Rukia's brother, and Lieutenant _Renji_ Abarai." She grinned after both these names.

"5?"

"Captain Ikkaku Madarame. Lieutenant Yumichika Ayasegawa."

"4?"

She growled, apparently tired of this. "Captain Retsu Unohana. Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu."

"3?"

"Captain Gi- Okay, seriously, those two are starting to irritate me." She was frowning, her head turned towards the window. Urahara frowned too, they honestly hadn't been bothering him, but he was more concerned with how his pupil had managed to find out they were there. They were doing a pretty good job of hiding themselves outside the window.

"How did you know they were there?" he voiced his thoughts.

"I've always been able to sense my sister," she replied, "and Lilynette is leaking reiatsu all over the place, she's easy to sense." Urahara raised one eyebrow skeptically before turning to the window.

"Alright, you two can come in," he yelled and it was only a few seconds later that the door burst open, the two younger girls waltzing in, still clad in their school uniforms. "This won't become a regular thing though," the older man tried to make clear. "She has to learn and we can't have you two continuously interrupting." Lilynette glared at him and Yuzu frowned.

"When are we supposed to come see her?" Lilynette insisted and stomped her foot. "This is the only time since she 'transferred schools.' Maybe you guys should just get up earlier so you can start school at a decent time." The oldest narrowed his eyes at her, he liked his sleep.

"I brought you some food," Yuzu sat down next to her sister. The darker of the two dug through the bag a little, but wasn't that hungry. Yuzu noticed this and frowned more deeply. Karin huffed.

"It's not my fault," she defended. "This Gigai doesn't get very hungry and seeing as I haven't used _any_ of my reiatsu, I can't be hungry." Yes, she did indeed have to now live in a Gigai. Unfortunately, despite her body being healed by Inoue, it was already too far gone; her soul hadn't been able to connect with it any longer. It had been dead too long. So Urahara had disposed of it. It had been kind of strange, saying goodbye to her body, but Urahara assured her that he'd make a Gigai that was an exact replica. She felt pretty comfortable in it. "But if _someone_," she stared pointedly at her instructor, "would let me and Enkouinmaru _train_, then we wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Who?" Yuzu cocked her head to the side.

"…?" Urahara furrowed his eyebrows seriously.

"My Zanpakuto," she insisted.

"You know your swords name?" Urahara asked slowly, his eyebrows coming closer and closer to touching as his sharp gaze bore into her. His student felt suddenly like she had done something wrong and she paled. "How did you find out its name?"

"Well I…" she glanced at her sister who could only shrug. "I've heard Ichigo talking to Zangetsu, and I asked him about it and he explained it to me. And I heard Dad mention something about Engetsu once too so I… I just… asked it what its name was…?"

Silence. Urahara thought deeply as he stared at her, his chin pinched between his forefinger and thumb. Not only could she sense other presences nearby, but she could already speak with her Zanpakuto? And on a level of understanding? To the point where it shared its name with her? Could this really be possible?

Perhaps…

Perhaps the fact that she has been previously introduced to shinigami could be the reason. She knows how they work, what the process is. Granted, it usually takes a normal shinigami months of training to learn a Zanpakuto's name with that very same knowledge (a very basic lesson really), but only a day after she became a plus? A shinigami? She'd only woken up five hours ago. It seemed… she must have very good connections to the spiritual side of the shinigami arts…

Maybe he should focus more on Kidou than he had originally planned…?

"Is that okay?" she asked timidly. "I mean I could try and… forget it… or something…"

"No, it's fine," he assured with a smile. "You're just developing mush faster than I had originally anticipated." She beamed at this. "You're brother should be jealous," he continued. "He had a lot of trouble learning the name of his sword." She smiled wider, a more sadistic glint to her eyes. Urahara foresaw some serious Ichigo taunting in her future.

"Enkouinmaru, huh?" Lilynette considered the name thoughtfully.

"Interesting name," Urahara continued, his mind running a mile a minute. "Considering the way you pronounce the name it would appear to be a fire type. 'Flame Ring' I believe it translates to," he smiled. "It appears to be the sister sword to Captain Hitsugaya's own Zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru. Interesting, very interesting _indeed_."

"Really?" she perked up considerably. "Ohhhh, I'm gonna make sure I get stronger than him then, he's gonna be _soooo_ mad." Urahara raised his eyebrows humorously.

"Stronger than a captain?" he was skeptical. "Only a select few reach that kind of rank. Granted, if your sword is of relation to Captain Histugaya's, it is probably of the same strength, but that's a high goal to set for yourself this early." Not that he doubted she could reach it.

"Oh I'll get there," she set her face firmly in determination. "If Ichigo can do it then I can." The older man shook his head and sighed, but didn't comment.

This family was crazy.

**oOo**

"So this is where you spend all your spare time," she teased lightly as she plopped down in the chair next to him. He didn't comment seeing as her evaluation was pretty much true. The library was his home away from home. He studied there (no Grimmjow to interrupt him) and was slowly but surely reading everything on the shelves. "Not that I can say I'm surprised," she continued as he flipped through a text book, "I mean, it is kind of a reflection of you, really."

He flicked his eyes at her momentarily. "How so?"

"Well," she started, her silver eyes going to the ceiling thoughtfully. "It's quiet, and kind of secluded. It just seems like a place an introverted person like you would go. Besides," she glanced around them quickly, "you picked a table in the corner of the top floor. If this doesn't scream 'I want to be left alone' then I don't know what does."

"Hmmm, apparently the message is not quite clear enough," he stated and she frowned. "It was an attempt at a joke Woman," he added as he flipped the pages in his book, searching for a particular chapter. She raised one eyebrow at him and he sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Well I guess it's the thought that counts," she decided with a shrug as she reached into her bag. "Even if the delivery was a little off." He pursed his lips. She was the one that was always telling him he needed a sense of humor. He was trying to acquire one, if only for her sake, and she was just patronizing him.

"I cannot change the normal tone of my voice," he grated.

"It's okay!" she assured quickly with a laugh. "It just means you have a very dry sense of humor. _Very_ dry, like the desert," she pulled a paper bag out of her own school pack. "Anyway, there's a reason I followed you here today." Reaching inside it, she pulled out three rice cakes still wrapped in their silver trapping. He frowned more deeply. "You don't eat enough," she started, "so if you have time to sit here and read all day, you have time to eat a few of these too." She shoved them over to him.

"I am not hungry," he stated monotonously. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he refused to budge on the subject. He simply crossed his arms over his chest, his green gaze never leaving her silver one as they attempted to stare each other down.

"Ulquiorra," she was completely and utterly serious, her eyebrows raised in a reprimanding fashion, "it's not healthy to eat as little as you do. I've noticed, you barely even touch your food. Maybe _you're_ not hungry, but your body is and you can't keep ignoring it." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I eat enough to survive, obviously, so I do not see why you are making such big deal about this." She glared at him, the resolve in her eyes only hardening the more he refused. She wasn't going to watch him waste away; he'd eat, even if she made him. It wasn't healthy at all. She didn't need him keeling over from heart failure.

Grabbing one of the rice cakes, she unwrapped it and tore one of the rounded corners off. Scooting her chair until it was right next to his, she held the store bought snack between her forefinger and thumb, right in front of his face.

He shied away a bit, his eyes filled with disdain as he stared down at what was _not_ a disgusting food type. She'd seen him eat these before, once, and she knew he liked them, so she ignored his pursed lips and furrowed brow.

"Eat it," she commanded and he glared at her.

"No."

"Ulquiorra, you're only making this harder for yourself."

"I said no Woman."

She sighed, her own lips pursing in irritation. She would win this battle whether he liked it or not.

"C'mon Ulquiorra," she raised her voice a few octaves. "Open wide," she held the food stuff up to his lips and grinned mischievously. "The train is pulling up, choo choo!" If he'd ever glared at her before, it was nothing compared to this. She laughed. "Or maybe you'd prefer an airplain? Zooom, here we go!" She waved the rice cake in front of his face, zigzagging up to his lips until she was within millimeters of him despite how he leaned backwards. "C'mon, the airport should be open this time of day!"

"Woman, I-"

"Hahaha!" she cackled evilly, her hand cupping his mouth as she forcefully pushed the cake between his lips. He grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her arm back, his hair bristling angrily as he was forced to succumb to her demands and eat the damn thing. He considered spitting it out, but that would only make a bigger mess of things. She'd already managed to smear the cake around the edges of his mouth; he didn't need to clean it up off the floor as well.

Turning away abruptly, she grabbed the two remaining corners of the cake, split them in half, and faced him again, her grin far too wide to be considered safe. He punched his lips together, determined to shoot her down.

"Still more left," she egged and he glared at her. She swiftly raised a cake corner to his nose and he veered backwards, the back of the chair gripped in his right hand, the table supporting his left as he tried to avoid her onslaught. But she was persistent and every time he turned his face away, her hand followed, the rice cake forever taunting his nostrils despite how he insisted on _not_ being hungry.

Finally tiring if her game, he reached up and grabbed her wrist with his hand. She scrunched her face together as she fought against him in pursuit of her goal. She was surprisingly strong, but he was not at a weakened disadvantage this time around and was able to easily hold her at bay.

She noticed this too and furrowed her eyebrows together angrily as he stared stoically at her. Sighing, she appeared to give up, her arm becoming lax. He let his guard down momentarily and was caught off guard when her other arm reached around, the remaining piece of cake set firmly in its fingers.

He glared at it.

"That's what you get!" she exclaimed (far too loudly to be in a library) as the cake smashed into his face. Instinctively he reared back, his eyes closing as he flinched away from the blow. He could feel the cake smearing up the side of his face, rice chunks falling into his lap as some filling found its way up his nose. "If you'd just eat it then we wouldn't have this problem!" she huffed and collapsed back in her chair when he released her wrist.

She crossed her arms and turned away from him.

Blinking, his jaw dropped as he wiped one side of his face with his fingers, some of the cake coming off, but most of it just smearing down his chin. Pulling his dirtied fingers away, he stared down at them, the jelly like substance sticking between his digits.

How was he ever going to clean this up?

Turning to her, he glared severely at the back of her head, his mouth snapping shut to form a deeply ingrained frown.

Slowly, upon sensing his gaze on her, she turned back to him. She appeared sheepish at first, her gray eyes hesitant to catch his green ones, but once they did, her lips formed into a smile, her gaze turning to a sparkling silver.

He did not however find the situation at all humorous. He didn't have any paper towel or tissues or anything to clean this up.

"Look at you," she giggled. "You're supposed to eat your food you know, not paint with it." He huffed and continued to glare at her. Sighing, the redhead rolled her eyes. "You're no fun, you know that?" He didn't care; she was the one that had followed him there in the first place. "Alright, alright, I'll find something to wipe it off, jeez." Rising from her seat, she was about to head to the ladies room to retrieve some paper towels when a thought struck her.

Turning back to him, she grinned and bent down towards him. He started to lean back, but stopped, shivers running up his spine when her tongue traced up his cheek.

Sitting back down, the redhead pulled away from him, her lips still formed into a smile as he stared down at her, his eyes a bit wider than before, all anger having vanished from his form. She giggled lightly and licked her lips once, as if to affirm that it had indeed tasted good.

She was exceptionally pleased with herself. And for good reason too. He could feel the blood pumping through his system, shockwaves bouncing around his body as he stared down into her glowing face. The amazing things she could do to him with just one action…

She laughed after the extended pause, apparently finding his reaction to her sudden forwardness humorous. Leaning up once again, she cupped his cheek with her hand and pulled him closer. Running her tongue across his upper lip, he sighed, his breath bouncing off her mouth as she then wiped clean the lower one as well, her smile never leaving her face when he took a deep breath, his eyes closing as his nose brushed hers affectionately.

"I knew you liked rice cakes," she whispered deviously as her tongue travelled delicately across his chin. But he didn't care so much about that anymore. Leaning down with her, he caught her lips between his own before she could do much more cleaning.

Placing his hands on her skirt clad thighs, he leaned forward, deepening the contact as she took a deep breath, her gasping stirring the blood in his abdomen. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, his hands gripping the fabric of her uniform desperately so as not to travel in… other directions…

Hoping to quiet her breathing as they were, technically, still in a library, he engulfed her mouth entirely, his own tongue forcing her lips apart. He ran it along the edges of her teeth, his hands traveling upwards to grip her hips when she sighed shakily into him. Her hands were slipping through his hair, her nails brushing his scalp in desperate pleads.

Slipping his thumbs between the band of her skirt, the throbbing in his lower regions increased when she gasped, his cold flesh causing her warm hips to jerk ever so slightly closer to him, her knee rubbing against his inner thigh.

Taking a deep breath through his nose, he allowed her to lean completely into him, her breasts pressed against his chest. The motion itself was enough to send fire through his veins, and he almost lost control then and there, his fingers tightening on her skirt in preparation to remove it entirely.

Only…

"Ehem?" freezing, the two teenagers snapped their eyes open, their gazes flicking up to meet their spectator, their lips frozen to one another, their breath coming in labored gasps. Rather embarrassing really.

She was an older, heavier set woman, her silver hair badly curled around her ears. She held a pencil in her hand and tapped in against her opposing palm in distaste. A strict frown graced her face, her eyes narrowed at them above a pair of reading glasses. She tapped her foot.

Ulquiorra was very familiar with this woman, and she had in fact come to know him as well.

She was the librarian.

Snapping away from each other, they turned their backs to the heat that had once been their locked figures, both of their faces flushing. The redhead stared down at the rice cake packages, her finger fiddling with them absentmindedly and very unconvincingly. Her significant other went back to his books, wiping what little remained of the smeared rice cake from his mouth with the back of his hand. He cleared his throat.

Shaking her head, the librarian apparently found their reactions adequate (it helped that she was actually quite fond of the green eyed individual) and turned away, her back disappearing among the shelves of dusty old book once again.

The two didn't dare to even look at each other, afraid of what they might commence in again, and it wasn't long before the shorter of the two rose to her feet, gathered her bags, and hefted them onto her shoulders.

She shoved the unopened cakes into his line of sight before turning and evacuating the area as fast as possible.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

Caught again, lulz, and this time by a stranger. That's almost worse. Oh they make me giggle.

So I know not a whole lot happened in this chapter, but it was mostly all in preparation for the next chapter seeing as almost all of these parts will come into play next update.

Anyway, so we got a taste of emo Grimmjow for a minute, blaming himself for what happened. He reminds me more and more of Ichigo every time I write about him, only in a more snarky, assholish kind of way. That's good mind you, lol.

What could he possibly do to improve his physical capabilities, hum?

A little Ichiruki in there too, that will come into play next chapter as well, and it will be hilarious. Poor Ichigo, poor Orihime, and poor Grimmjow. These are things to look forward to next chapter.

On to more important things. Yes, if you all must know, I _am_ a HitsuKarin fan (I'm also a bit of a GrimmIchi fan if none of you had noticed, lol, but I ship more IchiRuki so /shrug Sorry). That one filler episode they had sparked it. Usually I try to skip all the fillers as they generally suck, but I think that it is definitely one of my fav episodes _ever_ despite not having happened in the manga. I watch it all the time because those two are just so darn cute.

It's kind of the same situation as to why I prefer Orihime with gray eyes instead of brown.

That doesn't mean there's going to be a ton of them in it however. I mean, maybe just as much as any other side couple, but they're little kids (despite how Toshiro might object) and having anything that slides much farther away than cute would be… eh, wrong. They're just there to be awkward and cute and make Ichigo madz (not that that is hard), so enjoy their adorableness!

Okay, so that all of you can know, her sword does in fact translate to something similar to flame ring. "Enkou" means flame and "maru" refers to circle or zero, thus ring. So Enkouinmaru.

Hmmm… she didn't finish listing off the captains… interesting…

Don't talk to me about Ikkaku being a captain, all will be explained in due time.

Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. It was quite a bit lighter than the last chapter. But Ulquiorra got food all over his face, so it's okay, LOWL!

OH! And as to the lyrics at the beginning, yeah, I usually do that for all my stories, but for some reason when I started this account I stopped. But I'm putting them back in so lyrics have been placed at the tops of all the chapters. Names have been changed as well if anyone cares to look back. But I thought I'd let you all know.

Yes, I did use to have another account, actually I still have it, but I went through this phase where I deleted all my stories and stopped writing because I wanted to focus on my novel. That didn't last terribly long, lol. I used to have a ton of Final Fantasy stories, a Deathnote one, a Kingdom hearts one, but they're not there anymore. In favor of not reviving that hate-fest, I started _this_ account.

So if any of you have read some of my other stuff and you recognize my writing style, sorry. I might upload one of my older stories some day, but I'm pretty focused on this one currently.

ANYWAY! Hope you all liked.

Love to you's!

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE! (sorry for the long author note).


	12. Needing a Formal Order

**The Definition of Love**

_"Maybe I know somewhere  
deep in my **soul**  
that **love never lasts**.  
And we've got to find other ways  
to make it **alone**.  
Or keep a **straight face**.  
And I've always lived like this  
keeping a **comfortable distance.**  
And up until now I've sworn to myself  
that I'm **content** with **loneliness**._

__

Because none of it was ever **worth the risk**.

_Well you are the **only** exception."_

**_The Only Exception - Paramore_**

**Chapter 12: Needing a Formal Order**

"Man, I don't know how much more of this shit I can take," lying down, the blue haired man closed his eyes. It was a fresh kind of day, the sky was clear though clouds were predicted in the future, there was a cool breeze that foretold of autumn, and the temperature was just brisk enough to call for light sweaters.

"Seriously," Renji plopped down in the grass nearby, his back against a large tree. "I finished school years ago, yet now I'm stuck here." He too closed his eyes, his red hair swaying slightly as the wind picked up a notch.

"Then don't," Ichigo stated as he tore open his lunch bag. He sat between the two whining men, not of his own accord of course. Grimmjow found a sadistic kind of humor in annoying the shinigami, thus he sat next to him every chance he got. "It's not like anyone is forcing you to go to school," the strawberry continued. "You could just quit, go hang out at Urahara's or something."

"That would be _worse_," the redhead sighed. "You guys are always in school, it'd get boring. And for whatever reason Rukia enjoys this, so it's not like I could hang out with her." The tattooed man scowled.

"At least you _have_ the choice," the sixth stated as he sat up, grass stuck in his hair. "I have to do this whether I like it or not." He scowled as well and Ichigo rolled his eyes. It really wasn't that bad.

"I don't know why you guys complain so much," the shortest of the three shrugged. "It's not really that difficult or something. It's only high school." Renji scoffed. The older shinigami struggled quite a bit with academics. Not that he tried very hard. Grimmjow struggled a bit too, and Ichigo did feel a _little_ bad for him (not bad enough to care though). The ex-hollow _did_ try, but he just wasn't very good at these kinds of things. Not that the strawberry was very good either, but he worked damn hard to keep his grades where they were.

"I swear, all you guys do is bitch," Rukia rolled her eyes as she came upon the group, her lunch bag held securely in her small hands. Orihime and Tatsuki followed, and it wasn't long before all of their little group had accumulated completely. And yes, this did include Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, much to Ichigo's chagrin.

During the past few weeks, Grimmjow had made every attempt he could to make the youngest shinigami's life hell. Thus he was constantly around and had gradually become an expected bonus to their clique. Though Ichigo would be the last to claim any kind of friendship with the blue haired hell raiser.

Ulquiorra on the other hand would probably have preferred to stay out of it completely, but Orihime had basically forced him to sit with them, much to their surprise. The shock had worn off quickly though. They kept expecting the orange haired woman to hold some kind of hostility towards the ex-hollow, but she continually proved them wrong. This, as they all realized soon after, should have come to them as no surprise after all. Orihime didn't hold anything against anyone, and her attempts to get the groups to get along hadn't gone unnoticed.

The only thing that was still puzzling was how forward she was with the fourth, and then how easily he gave in to her demands. As far as any of them could tell, Ulquiorra was pretty stubborn, yet he never put up much of a fight against the perky teenager. Grimmjow was exceptionally pleasant with her as well, and everyone had pretty much decided that they felt some kind of guilt towards her... or something.

But that was a whole lot of phycological bullshit that Ichigo didn't feel like delving into. Not just because it was tedious to think about, but no one other then Orihime and the Espada knew what happened back then, and none of them appeared in any kind of rush to talk about it.

He didn't have the knowledge to make any kind of theories, so why think about it?

"There's just so many better things I could be doing with my time," Grimmjow sighed angrily and crossed his arms over his chest. Glancing over, Ichigo raised one eyebrow skeptically.

"Like what?" he asked, the mockery in his voice blatantly obvious. The sixth glared at him.

"Kicking your ass for one," he hissed temperamentally and the group sighed. Once again the two were at each other's throats, throwing empty threats around the yard. It was at about this time that the remainder of their friends ignored them in favor of more enlightening conversation. They'd pull each other's hair, kick and scream, and be back to their normal grumpy selves in a matter of minutes.

"I swear those two fight like an old married couple," Uryu mumbled and earned a few scoffs from the remainder of the group. Don't say that to them. Talk about opening an entirely new can of worms.

"You and Ichigo used to fight just like that," Rukia argued with a chuckle, "and now you're practically best friends." The Quincy frowned at this accusation, but didn't argue it. "And you," she looked pointedly at Renji, "used to fight with Ichigo even worse, yet now you're roommates." The redhead shrugged in indifference.

"Maybe that's just how Ichigo does things," Tatsuki began with a laugh. "It's not like you and him were always civil with each other either." Rukia shrugged as well. "And I used to whoop his ass before we finally started getting along."

"Really? Who? Ichigo's?" Grimmjow had come back to the conversation, apparently near the tail end of it seeing as he wasn't offended by what they were all implying about his and Ichigo's relationship. His rival was stomping across the grass nearby in search of the lunch bag he had somehow lost. "I find that strangely satisfying." The sixth was smiling smugly.

"Ichigo wasn't always the hard-ass he is now," Tatsuki continued. "He used to cry like a little baby all the time before... well he was a little wimp of a kid, and we used to go to the same Dojo, so I'd get the chance to beat up on him every week." She smiled and sighed, apparently finding the memory pleasant.

"You _are_ a martial arts champion," Orihime cut in with a knowing tone. Ulquiorra sat next to her, seeming completely bored and void of emotion. But that made him all the more easy to ignore, which worked for all parties involved seeing as none of them would know how to go about communicating with him anyway.

"Doubt I could now though," the black haired woman added with a laugh. Grimmjow rolled his eyes and turned with a sadistic smirk to find the shinigami still looking for his lunch. Obviously, he hadn't spotted it hanging in the tree branches right above his head.

"Please," the sixth turned back to the group, "he's nothing."

"Says the man who can't even withstand a little reiatsu," Rukia teased and he glared at her. It wasn't his fault. If he wasn't stuck in this puny human body...

"You're so full of hot air," Tatsuki stated and the blue glare turned to her. "Seeing as _I_ could kick your ass, I doubt you'd stand a chance against Ichigo." The ex-hollow raised a single eyebrow skeptically, one corner of his mouth pulling into a smirk.

"Please bitch," he crossed his arms cockily, "a little girl like you wouldn't stand a chance against me." Tatsuki returned the same skeptical gesture. "I wouldn't even waste my time with you." None of them missed the obvious challenge that passed between the two. How Grimmjow loved to instigate hostile situations.

"You're just afraid," the smaller of the two taunted as she took a sip from her juice box, apparently unfazed by the sexist comment. Grimmjow chortled, but his eyes twinkled with dangerous mirth.

"I guess you're asking for it chickie," he stood and brushed off his pants nonchalantly before stretching, feigning indifference about the whole situation. "And don't think I'm going to go easy on you just because you're wearing a skirt."

"Wouldn't dream of it," his opponent replied and handed her juice to her best friend. "I'll be back for that in a few seconds Orihime." Rukia laughed at the insult and Renji "ohhhh"ed like a grade-schooler.

"Yeah, she'll be back," the blue haired man assured, "but she'll need more from you than her juice, Pet." The orange haired woman shrugged and laughed lightly. She wasn't particularly worried about how this fight would turn out seeing as she had the highest faith in Tatsuki, and unlike Grimmjow, her best friend would _leave_ her opponent once she was done with them.

"Go over there," Rukia gestured to the grass a ways away just as Ichigo plopped down next to her, his disheveled lunch in his hands as he mumbled something about blue haired delinquents and poisoned rice balls.

The two didn't really have much choice though seeing as Tatsuki had already thrown the first punch, forcing the sixth to take a few steps backwards in surprise. _He_ was generally the first to make a move. How very interesting.

He smiled sadistically and planted himself firmly in the grass, his arms raised and ready. Tatsuki on the other hand had assumed a docile position, her left hand on her hip as the other itched her ear, her eyes drawn anywhere but the sixth as if she wasn't the least bit worried about this foray.

One of Grimmjow's weaknesses however was patience, and with a swift bound, he was before the black haired female, his knee raised and circling around to lambaste her in the stomach.

No one missed the smirk on her face.

"Too slow," she laughed and ducked. His knee soured over her as she sank to the ground, the base of her skirt brushing the grass. She had her hands on her bent knees and used them as a propelling force back up once Grimmjow had finished his round about kick. "You shouldn't leave yourself open like that."

It wasn't exactly karate, but it got the job done. Standing just as Grimmjow's back was momentarily turned to her, she jammed her elbow into his lower back (not as hard as she could have), forcing him to straighten, his head snapping back. Reaching up, she was able to wrap her arm around the taller man's neck.

Turning downward, she forced his head into the crook of her elbow, taking him down as well. Head-locking him, she grinned when he immediately reached up to try and pry her arm off, but was to little avail.

"You hollow and shinigami think you got it all just because you've got more strength," she taunted as he growled, his nails scraping against her sweater, "but when you're just like us humans, you have to use strategy, not force. And I'm not like your brother, I won't remain defensive."

Releasing him, she took a step back as he flew backwards, his face red from lack of oxygen as he puffed in and out. Tatsuki was still grinning and he growled, obviously angry.

"Learn some real fighting techniques," she laughed, "and then maybe we can try this again." Giving him a teethe grin, she turned on her heel and skipped her way back over to the group. Retrieving her juice from Orihime, she plopped back down next to her best friend and continued grinning. The redheaded woman released a knowing giggle.

Grimmjow still stood in the clearing, his face gaining redness, but not due to lack of oxygen. His fists were balled at his sides and he was glaring at the grass, his brain running a million miles a minute.

He wasn't mad at Tatsuki, he was mad at _himself_.

Just another reminder of his weakness.

"Oh let it go," Renji tried to ease the situation. "We all would lose at hand to hand against Tatsuki, at least in gigai's, so forget about it." No one had failed to see the distressed expression momentarily cross the blue haired teenagers face, and it caused an awkward silence to consume the air.

But it wasn't long before the loser raised his head once again, his eyes masked. He marched back over to the group and sat down next to Renji, his face a blank.

"So..." Uryu tried to change the subject, "how is Karin doing? It's been about three days since she started training, right? Anything to report?" Ichigo sighed, he was obviously disapproving of the whole situation, so Rukia answered instead.

"She's progressing at a faster than normal rate, according to Urahara," the dark haired shinigami started, "but he doesn't really seem too surprised by this. Apparently the Kurosaki line is a very blessed line of shinigami blood. She already knows the name of her Zanpakuto."

"I'm assuming that that is not normal?" Uryu decided with an uneasy glance at Chad. The bigger man only stared down at him, saying nothing. "Well," the Quincy turned back to the female shinigami, "I hope she's a faster learner than her older brother." Ichigo glared at the dark haired man, but said nothing.

"She's got a talent for Kidou I guess," Rukia shrugged, "but other than that nothing seems too far out of the ordinary other than her high reiatsu levels, but I guess no one is surprised by that, she is related to Ichigo after all. She's pretty good at controlling it too."

"Kidou," Renji stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Hate that stuff." Rukia frowned at her old friend.

"You just don't like it because you're terrible at it," she deadpanned. "You're about as talented as Ichigo at controlling reiatsu." The sarcasm was very evident, and both subjects of her speech glared at her.

"What is this, Target Ichigo Day or something?" the youngest shinigami muttered. He appeared to be in as bad a humor as usual. "I may be bad at that kind of stuff, but you shouldn't be saying anything. At least I've _reached_ Bankai."

That comment peeved the shorter girl and Renji laughed.

"Watch it," she poked him in the chest. "I'm a lot older than you, respect your elders."

"Exactly," Ichigo replied. "You're like a million years old and you still can't do Bankai." A vein was throbbing in the shorter woman's forehead, but he continued anyway. "Life experience? Please, you apparently haven't used it for much." Renji was laughing again.

"You don't know anything about my life," she rebuked. "At least I'm not some seventeen year old virgin with a superiority complex." Now both Grimmjow and Renji were laughing, and the rest of the group was grinning with mirth. Even Ulquiorra was paying attention a little.

"Okay, first off, I don't have a superiority complex, just because I don't respect you because you're a bitchy little midget," she growled. "Second, you don't know I'm a virgin-"

"You are _so_ a virgin," she grinned deviously.

"- And _third_… wait," he furrowed his eyebrows and stared down at her, "you're _not_ a virgin?" The shorter shinigami face-palmed and Grimmjow rolled back onto the grass, his mirth echoing with Renji's around the yard.

"Ichigo," she smiled, her cheeks a light pink, "I'm over a hundred and fifty… no, I'm not a virgin." The younger shinigami's eyebrows continued to knit together and he frowned deeply as he stared down at her.

"I still can't get over the fact that _Strawberry_ is a virgin," Grimmjow snickered. "To think, he's the most powerful being in the-"

"Shut the fuck up Grimmjow!" the redhead cut in fiercely, his cheeks flaming up. "I never said that…" Rukia shook her head and a few others in the group sank back, more specifically Uryu and Chad. They had no desire to become the victims of the same attention as their orange haired friend.

"I don't understand what the big deal is," Orihime frowned. "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin…" Grimmjow glanced at Ulquiorra, saw the way he was holding his book to his face, and started laughing again. "What?"

"It _is_ sad Ichigo," Grimmjow taunted through guffaws. "Even Man of Darkness over there lost his innocence a long time ago." Ulquiorra's shoulders slumped; he had been trying to hide for fear of getting this exact kind of attention. Now his Woman was staring at him with a gaping mouth as well.

Had she honestly expected that he _was_ a virgin? He was a hollow, a hollow that had once been a mindless mass of uncontrollable rage and passion. Killing wasn't the only thing lower class hollow did on a regular basis. He honestly couldn't remember a whole lot about that time in his life, but he couldn't deny the truth either. He'd left that part of his existence behind, so it didn't matter anyway.

Still… the Woman was a virgin…?

Ichigo ignored Grimmjow's taunts and focused once again on Rukia. "How many-"

"Don't even ask that Ichigo Kurosaki!" she exclaimed and he shied away from her blistering eyes. "What kind of a gentleman are you, asking a woman something like-"

"Rukia was a pretty big player actually."

"Renji!" she had paled considerably, and so had Ichigo.

"I mean," the redhead continued, "according to how that might be characterized by human standards. Shinigami do date after all," he shrugged, "and over the course of hundreds of years, it's only plausible that one has… 'multiple' partners." Rukia sighed. "Though I guess that would make me a player too."

"You don't want to know what dating is like in-"

"No Grimmjow, we don't!" Uryu cut in quickly and Ulquiorra sighed as the redhead sitting next to him started frowning, her eyes curious. "Keep it to yourself… _please_…" The sixth laughed, but apparently got the message.

"How many boyfriends have you had?" Ichigo asked quickly, his eyebrows furrowed again. Rukia sighed and sank lower into the grass, her glare directed at Renji.

"Sounds like someone's _jealous_," Grimmjow smiled sadistically and the innocent shinigami whipped his head around to face the sixth, his eyes narrowed dangerously despite how the redness rose to his face. Rukia blushed as well and Renji high-fived Grimmjow, glad to finally find someone who saw the chemistry between them besides himself.

"_Awwww_," Tatsuki cocked her head to the side as she stared at the two flustered individuals. "Aren't they cute? Two little shinigami's who just _happen_ to live in the same house." Ichigo took a deep breath in through his nose and Rukia buried her face in her in her hands, both of them ignoring what she implied.

"First off," the strawberry started, "I am _not_ jealous." The way his face continued to flare wasn't very convincing. "And secondly, she sleeps in an entirely different room than I do."

"That's not how it _used_ to be," Renji snickered as he lightly jabbed the sixth in the ribs. The other laughed boisterously in reply, the two sharing equally the hilarity of their counterpart's embarrassment. And the two victims couldn't find any defense either seeing as what the tattooed man had said was true. Stating that she had slept in his closet probably wouldn't make things better either.

The two were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes, and even Ulquiorra had raised his eyebrows as he listened, a rice cake in his hands that was staring up at him tauntingly (the woman had given it to him before lunch and told him that if he didn't eat it, she'd make him anyway, just as she had before, but in front of the entire school. It wasn't so much the threat of publicity that got him, but he really didn't want to have a repeat of what had happened before, not if she wanted to continue to keep their relationship a secret from her friends).

"Alright guys, that's enough," Tatsuki tried to ease the situation despite the part she had played in instigating it. "I think they've had enough." She was still smiling though, thus her argument didn't hold much ground and the two other men continued cracking jokes about their victims back and forth.

"Man, this is sad," Keigo frowned. "I just realized something. None of us is dating _anyone_." Orihime paled, but luckily no one seemed to notice. "I mean, there's a ton of us and we're _all_ single. Where's the love everybody? _Where's the love_?"

"Shut up Keigo," Ichigo snarled testily and both Renji and Grimmjow feigned dismay, their eyes still glittering. "And you two," he turned to the main antagonists, "need to shut the hell up before I **make** you!" The tattooed individual rolled his eyes and the sixth scoffed.

"There's plenty of 'love' around," Grimmjow defended with a shrug. "I mean every time I walk into a room Ulquiorra and Orihime are… all over… each… other…

.

.

.

Pause.

"Shit."

"Smooth move," Tatsuki stated with raised eyebrows as she took another sip of her juice, her gaze diverted.

"I knew it!" Rukia exclaimed and stood dramatically, her forefinger pointed accusingly at the two now frozen individuals. "I knew there was something going on between you two!" Despite Rukia's outburst, no one else dared say anything. They were all staring at the two new subjects with wide eyes.

Ulquiorra sighed and glanced down at his Woman, unnerved to see the way her eyes had bulged and how her face had paled. Damn Grimmjow causing her distress. He didn't personally care whether her friends knew about them or not, but _she_ did, thus he was forced to.

"… What…?" Uryu narrowed his eyes at the redhead. "What… is he talking about?"

Orihime felt her heart freeze in her chest. She had not been expecting to have to explain this today, not during lunch, not with every single one of her closest friends staring at them, waiting for answers. She wasn't prepared. And it wasn't because he was Ulquiorra, ex-Espada and once the most powerful enemy of humans in the world. It didn't really have anything to do with him...

Okay so it did. So she was a little afraid of what they would think…

But she had the right to be concerned right?

Ulquiorra pursed his lips together; apparently the Woman was unable to form a coherent sentence. That meant he should probably take over. How very tedious.

Turning to the group, his green gaze was flat and emotionless.

"The situation can be somewhat related to what Grimmjow implies," though not completely. "The Woman and I are in a romantic relationship." The redheaded woman blushed. He didn't need to say it like _that_! His cheesy personality was for times when they were alone, not _right now_!

They blinked, some gaping with furrowed brows, others completely puzzled. Orihime nervously placed her hair behind her ears, the heat in her face making her cheeks ache. How could Ulquiorra be so calm about this whole thing? He was such a stone! Why couldn't she be like that?

"Wait…" Ichigo frowned. "You," he pointed at Orihime, "and… Ulquiorra are…"

"Did you guys hear that?" Ulquiorra glanced up at the Woman as she jumped to her feet suddenly, her voice high pitched and nervous. "I think that's the bell!" The fourth hadn't heard anything…? "Well I guess it's time to go back inside," she laughed, but it was obviously fake. "C'mon Ulquiorra," she grabbed him by the sleeve and started to walk back inside, "you said you'd help me with my math homework."

"I did no-"

"_Yes you did_!" she hissed violently at him when he didn't budge from his spot in the grass. He'd considered just going with her anyway, apparently she was in need of an escape, but he didn't appreciate the tone in her voice. Why was she making such a big deal about this? It seemed very minute in the general scheme of things.

He didn't move from his spot on the ground.

"No, I didn't," he stated firmly and she sighed, his wrist still held firmly in her small hand. "Why are you so bothered about this Woman?" Her face dropped and so did his wrist. He furrowed his brows at her, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know," she whined desperately, her gaze momentarily drifting back to her friends, but they were all watching the exchange in silence. Standing, Ulquiorra stared down at her, waiting. "I just…" her silver gaze met his once again. "It's just that I was… you were… and everyone… and the war and you and… I didn't want to…" there was pleading look in her gaze and he frowned more deeply, his stomach dropping. "There's just so much… history that I…"

"If you are so concerned about my past, or yours, or yours and mine, and what your friends think, then stop," she stared up at him and her heart plummeted. His face was completely and utterly blank, his mouth set in a rigid line.

But that wasn't the worst part.

His eyes had retreated from her, he was distancing himself. He felt betrayed by her. He had entrusted his heart to her... and now... she had punched it... _hard_.

"I said from the beginning that there did not have to be any secrets because there did not have to be anything to be kept secret," her jaw dropped open slightly, her own eyebrows coming together in _more_ than distress. "If you are that _ashamed_," she felt her breath catch at the terrible grate in his voice, "then do not be. I don't want you to feel that way. So your situation is cured." Picking up his bag, he turned from her and started heading towards the school.

"What does that mean?" she asked as he walked away.

"It means you are free to release yourself of your hindering emotions," he didn't even turn to look at her, "because your friends no longer have anything to think about." She released a low whimpering noise, but he was dead set on leaving, his footsteps a little faster than usual. It was only a few seconds before he had reached the door. They watched as he threw it open violently, the only sign of his unhappiness.

Orihime stood staring at the school, her hands wrung together below her chin.

What had she done? He was already stressed about his past as it was, ashamed and guilty about it, he didn't need to know that she was… self-conscious about them? Embarrassed? Was she? Was there a reason for her to be so hesitant about telling her friends?

No.

Not that it mattered anymore. He'd just… _broken up_ with her…

Turning to her friends, she didn't even register the shocked looks on their faces. She just tried desperately to blink back tears.

"Grimmjow!" Tatsuki hissed and punched him on the shoulder.

"It's not my fault!"

**oOo**

"Hmm," the green clad man furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully, "so it's not going quite as we expected then?" Shaking her head, the blonde rubbed her temples, her head aching. Starrk frowned down at her from his position standing next to her, his unease about the situation apparent.

"Why did she have to go through this to begin with?" his bluish-grey gaze drifted back up to the blonde man wearing the bucket hat. "You're not doing this with any of the rest of us, so why Harribel?"

"It's complicated Starrk," the blonde woman cut in before Urahara could offer an explanation. "Don't worry, it only gives me headaches once in a while, nothing serious. I'm more worried about the development than the actual effect on me."

"And how is the development exactly?" their shinigami friend was leaning forward now, his thin chin held securely in-between his thumb and forefinger. "Though I can't guarantee that I'll be able to help you at this point. This is something I've never done before, but if even a little of your..." He sighed suddenly and leaned back, his own exhaustion suddenly apparent.

"It comes in flashes," she started and leaned back as well, the paleness of her face earning her a concerned glance from her housemate. "It like watching a movie, as if I'm seeing it from a distance. But the images are too blurry most of the time for me to make out. But there are some instances... like with that hollow that... that cause some things to become very clear all of a sudden. As if certain emotions trigger it."

The scientist hummed thoughtfully. "I was worried something like this would happen when we began the exercises. It seems that your current conciseness is too strong to let much of it through. Perhaps we should just stop this whole experiment..."

"No, please," she started hastily, her soft green eyes widening. "I don't wish to stop, it's just a little confusing is all. These episodes are reviving some things in me, my feelings for them have... have grown considerably. I think that if we keep trying, I will eventually uncover enough to find some answers. Perhaps it will always be like watching a movie, but that... that's better than nothing at this point."

"Well if you wish to continue then I won't say no, but it could cause a considerable amount of mental strain. Are you sure you don't want to take a short break? It hasn't been long since-"

"No, that's not an option," she stated firmly, her gaze hardening. "You've got me in this far and I refuse to quit now." Standing, she grabbed her coat. "I'll be back tomorrow for our regular session." The blonde man only shrugged in reply and the two turned to Starrk instead. "Call when you need to be picked up and I'll come get you."

The brunette scoffed. "You seem very certain of my success." She shrugged.

"You have to be successful," she argued. "We're parents, we don't have a choice." He raised his eyebrows and nodded in agreement. Despite his lax attitude and lack of formal control, he did watch over their four wards more closely than they knew.

"I have the utmost confidence in you," Urahara assured with a smile. "Like I said, the only two I'm worried about are those teenagers, but they'll figure it out in time as well. They're both on the right track, hanging around with the group that they do."

"Do you think they'll develop fast enough though?" Harribel's mouth hardened into a fierce line. "I would prefer they never have to deal with this to begin with, but seeing as you assured us that their is no choice..." there was obvious distaste in her voice and she sighed. "I do not like this sacrificing one to save another philosophy."

"I don't either I assure you, but once they find out what you two have accomplished, they will no doubt want to jump on the bandwagon as well."

The woman shook her head. "I'm not so sure they would, both of them that is. Grimmjow would have no problems I'm sure, but Ulquiorra... he seems to despise the thought more and more ever day." The blonde man frowned, apparently this didn't come as good news.

"Well that's too bad for him a I guess," he stated nonchalantly and turned away from the hard gaze Harribel threw in his direction. "He going to have to go through with it, or he'll risk losing more important things in the end." Scowling slightly, the woman decided to ignore this comment and turned back to Starrk.

"I trust in your strength Starrk, think of Lilynette and I know you'll make it through."

"I will think of you _all_," he responded shortly. His housemate gave him a reassuring smile before turning on her heel and exiting the small shop. She didn't have the nerves to stay much longer, else she try to convince him to abandon Urahara and his fool plan.

But she knew what was at stake if they did so, they had to become stronger. Perhaps doing so would not please _all_ her children, but it _would_ be their choice in the end, no matter how persuasive Urahara was, and she knew that on a personal level she would do anything to save any and _all_ her children.

Hopefully, when the time came, those two would see the value in such a decision as well.

Sighing, she replaced her coat on her being. She thought such things, the logical side of her did, yet deep down she hoped they refused as well, that they would have no desire to enter into such a plan. If only she were strong enough to handle everything on her own, then there would be no need for unnecessary sacrifices.

Being a mother was always difficult.

**oOo**

"Why are you home early?" she stared at him from her spot on the couch, a flower stem and some scissors in her hands. He was obviously upset, she could tell by the way his shoulders tensed upon seeing her and how his movements were jerking. Granted, his face was blank slate, but that was almost more of an indication.

"It's nothing," he muttered, his eyes dropping to the carpet. She frowned. Obviously it was something and she wanted an explanation. She would get one too, he knew that perfectly well. So she waited. "I did something… inappropriate."

"Did you get in trouble with the school?" her head immediately started jumping to conclusions. She had never imagined that Ulquiorra would cause trouble, that was Grimmjow's job. But it seemed as of late that their roles were reversing.

"No, nothing like that," he stated monotonously and the blonde woman cocked her head to the side. He sighed. Dropping his bag to the floor, he walked around the couch and sat across the table from her. She was surprised to say the least. He wasn't the type to communicate his problems to others.

Ever.

But… his eyes were strained, upset. What in the world had happened?

She set her work down and folded her arms below her breasts. "Tell me," she urged and his gaze flicked up to meet hers. She was surprised, yes, but also beyond grateful. She had the feeling that he really was going to confide in her, and that was a monstrous step beyond where he used to be.

"It's that Woman," he stated bluntly, his green eyes flashing with sudden pain, pain that was in no way reflected in his face. Waiting with patience beyond what she ever thought she had, the third stared at him, knowing full well that if she pushed him, she'd only end up with him distancing himself from her. "She's…" he sighed a deep breath through his nose. "She's driving me crazy. Grimmjow told them about us, and she…" the hurt once again. "She was… ashamed… I guess… I don't know…" Harribel frowned. "And then I… I told her that she didn't have to be because we weren't… anymore… I don't understand." He was angry, angry at himself. "Why is this so complicated?"

"Relationships are the most complicated things in the world," she stated softly, his green eyes flashing to hers once again, unsure. "Family, friends, lovers, it's _all_ difficult. We all make mistakes, but it's how we handle those mistakes that makes the difference." She sat back on the couch. "It sounds to me like you both made mistakes, and, in all honesty, your behavior, though a little exaggerated, _is_ understandable. But if you want to continue a relationship with her, you need to forgive her."

"I forgave her the moment it started," he whispered. "But she… I don't want her to feel that way. If being with me does that then…" Harribel stared at the couch, considering her words.

"Ulquiorra," she furrowed her eyebrows, "the relationship you have with Orihime Inoue isn't like normal relationships. You two have a past, one that… isn't the easiest thing to forget. But she has obviously forgiven you, for whatever reason, so perhaps she is a little nervous about her friends finding out. I… know you want to forget about what happened, but it's hard for people to, and she recognizes that. I don't think she was hiding it because she was ashamed. I think she was hiding it because she wanted to avoid hurting the people she loved, you included." His head snapped up, his gaze meeting hers momentarily.

"Why? Why does she want to protect me? Why does she… why does she…"

"Why does she love you? That I couldn't tell you, but she seems like the type of person who is capable of loving anyone. I don't know that she's _in_ love with you, but there is potential, and where there is potential, there is always room for understanding." The blonde woman smiled. "I know it may seem like a really big deal to you, and it is, don't get me wrong, but your problem is easily _fixable_ as well." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"How?" he was irritated. "This _isn't_ that easy! How can I ask her to forgive me again after… after everything she already has…" Harribel laughed lightly, but he did not enjoy being patronized.

"You're not a saint," she replied with raised eyebrows. "Your human, and humans, hollows, and shinigami all make mistakes. You can't go into a relationship thinking everything is going to go perfectly, because it's not. You can't be the perfect guy Ulquiorra, no matter how hard you try." He glared at her.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" he was getting rather testy. "You didn't see her face, I… she was so upset that… I saw… I never wanted to see her like that ever again. Not because of me. I… hurt her… _again_…" The blonde woman frowned. There was a much deeper problem here, she knew that, but she couldn't make Ulquiorra let go of his guilt, thus she would do her best to ease it.

"I have an idea," she started optimistically. "C'mon," she rose from her seat, "follow me. I know exactly what you have to do."

**oOo**

She didn't know what to do. She hadn't actually expected him to leave! He was so upset…

She'd been planning to talk to him after school, apologize. He deserved as much, she'd been acting like a terrible person. But he'd actually vacated the area. Even her friends were surprised. It wasn't like him to do something like that. She must have hurt him more than she knew. Not that she could say it was unexpected. She'd spent the last month assuring him that nothing about their past mattered anymore, and then _this_ happened.

He wasn't self-assured enough to handle something like that. She _wasn't_ ashamed of him… she didn't know what she was anymore…

Flopping down on her couch, she held a tissue box shakily in her lap. And _she_ hadn't been expecting to be this upset either. It wasn't the end of the world, she already knew what _that_ felt like, yet she couldn't stop the tears. She'd managed to hold them in during class, her friends constantly casting her worried looks, but as soon as the bell had rung signaling that the day was over, she'd bolted. She hadn't said two words to anyone.

And there were multiple messages on her phone from multiple of her loved ones, but she dared not call them, not when she felt like breaking down and sobbing, which was probably what she'd do by the end of the night.

He'd actually broken up with her…

Sniffing, she pulled one of the soft pieces of fabric from the cardboard container and wiped her eyes. He was so stubborn too… Obviously she was going to try talking to him, but would he even listen? He probably hated her…

She'd practically thrown herself at him to begin with, and she knew he was always annoyed with her. It was only a matter of time anyway, right? They just weren't right together. There were much prettier, _better_ girls he could have. And after she'd betrayed him like that… he deserved someone better…

They'd only been together a month, yet she felt like she was losing something she'd had for a lifetime. She felt so empty…

Blinking, she sat up, listening.

Yes, someone was knocking on her door.

Maybe if she just ignored them, they'd go away. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Didn't people understand that she wanted to be alone? It was kind of out of character, but everyone had their down times.

Still the insistent knocking.

Sighing, she wiped her eyes once more with the tissue, found it did little good, and decided to take the box with her to the door. Maybe her sad state of affairs would deter the intruder. Standing, she moped across the room to the door, trying to appear as miserable as possible. Her pajama shorts and tank top probably helped with this endeavor and as she opened the door, she placed a hard frown on her face.

Not that it was difficult to do.

As soon as she saw who greeted her however, she wished she hadn't tried so hard.

"Ul-Ulquiorra?" she sniffed, shocked. His face had been distraught when she'd opened the door, but as soon as he'd seen her, it had dropped even more. "What… what are you doing here?" Again, his face continued to drop and she stepped outside, the tissue box at her side.

"Woman, I…" and that's when she saw them, having finally pulled her eyes from his. She gaped, her heart pausing momentarily in her chest as she dropped the tissue box. There must have been two dozen, all of them perfect in every single way and tied with a red ribbon around their still moist green stems.

She felt the tears well up in her eyes and begin to overflow, her lower lips shaking dangerously, her breath catching in her throat. His eyes widened as they started flowing uncontrolled down her cheeks, his face tensing uneasily. But she didn't care. She was shaking, but it didn't matter. She was barefoot and cold, but she didn't notice.

Running forward, she jumped lightly off the bottom step of her porch, her legs wrapping around his waist as her arms did the same around his neck, her tear-streaked face hiding in his hair.

And he responded immediately, his full arms, filled to the brim with white roses, catching her and holding her aloft.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear and she felt her heart constrict painfully. Latching more tightly to him, she couldn't hold back the sobs anymore and she tried harder to bury her face in his neck, to hide the way her eyes leaked and how her stomach was floating nauseously, how her arms were shaking, her legs as well. "I'm _so_ sorry," he repeated again, his voice soft. Every time he said it her heart surged into her throat, causing more emotion to pour out of her. "Please stop crying," he whispered urgently. "Please, I'll never hurt you again, so please stop crying, _please_."

He was sorry and he hadn't even done anything.

"S-stop," she stuttered. "Stop… apol-apoligizing." She could feel his pulse through his skin, fast and furious, worried. He was tense, unsure. "It's not yo-your fault." He sighed, his own face imbedded in her hair. She could feel his breathing, tight and uneven.

"You're crying," he murmured. "That in itself is proof that I have wronged you. You placed your heart in my care and I..." She smiled against his neck. She didn't want to let him go, she wanted to stay wrapped around him for the rest of the afternoon, for the rest of the night and the day after too. But she couldn't.

He needed an explanation.

Loosening her grip, she wasn't at all surprised when he responded instantaneously in placing her on her feet, his touch gentle, his eyes searching hers desperately. She allowed him to see her smile though, and that seemed to set a few of his nerves to rest.

"You haven't done anything," she assured, taking a deep breath to steady her voice. "It was stupid for me to get upset like I did." She placed her hand on his chest, her eyes drawn to the fabric of his light fall coat. "I'm not ashamed of you, or embarrassed, I promise you that."

"I know," he muttered, his own free hand on her waist. "I'm sorry I acted like I did, it was foolish. I know you, or I hope I do, better than that. I should have known you would not let something so futile impede on any of your endeavors." She smiled again.

"I'm still sorry," she continued. "It was a misunderstanding that could have been resolved if I hadn't been so uptight about everything. When you left school, I thought… I thought you'd never listen, I thought that-"

"Please Woman," he started bluntly, "as if I could actually stay away from you without a formal order." She laughed, her nose brushing the fabric of his clothing. "I am sorry though, for acting like I did. It was uncalled for and obviously upset you. And I am sorry for realizing this and not immediately making amends _then_. All I can ask is that you forgive me."

"I already said you didn't do anything wrong," she laughed as she fingered one of the dark buttons sealing his jacket. "But if you really want to be forgiven that badly, I guess I can't refuse," she was trying to sound light hearted, but there was a heaviness, a relief, to her tone that couldn't be hidden. "The roses are a nice incentive though." Leaning back, she smiled up at him reassuringly.

"Ah, yes, those," he glanced at them before flicking his green orbs back to her. "I must admit, they were not my idea. Had Harribel not interfered I would have ended up at your doorstep empty handed." She giggled.

"Well I guess that's good enough," she decided. "Though those are details you're supposed to leave out you know." He furrowed his eyebrows curiously. "They'll look good on my table either way, and Tatsuki will be jealous. I've never gotten roses before." He raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"I find that hard to believe," he started. "With your beauty and intelligence, you should receive roses every week." She couldn't tell if he was just being honest like usual or actually trying to flatter her. Not that it mattered she supposed. He was such a romantic and didn't even realize it.

"If I got two dozen roses a week, I don't know what I'd do with them all," she took a sudden step back, releasing him of her grip as she backtracked up the stairs, her hands behind her back as she smiled. "C'mon, those need to be put in water." A shiver ran up her spine as well, her senses finally seeming to function properly.

He noticed this as well and frowned.

"You should put on more clothes before you come running outside," he scolded and she grinned sheepishly. "I would have waited here all night for you to come out, there was no rush." She rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the sleeve, pulling him up the porch.

"You are such a cheeseball."

**oOo**

"Stop it," she was frowning, a steaming bowl of oatmeal in her small hands. "I'm serious, stop looking at me like that." She was on her last nerve currently. He was acting like a child, sitting there staring at her as if she'd done something wrong.

He crossed his arms over his chest and sank further down in the dining room chair, his frown deepening.

"Seriously, I don't know what your problem is Ichigo, you've been acting like this since we got home," sighing, the shorter of the two sat down across from him, her eyes on her food as she slowly shoveled it into her mouth.

"I'm not acting like anything," he pouted, his eyes flashing with uncertainty, but his counterpart hadn't noticed, she was too busy ignoring the death glare he didn't know he was casting her. It wasn't so much directed at her as...

"Yes you are," she stated as she pulled the newspaper across the table towards her. "I don't know why you're letting the conversation from lunch get to you so much, but Renji and Grimmjow were only joking around. You shouldn't take it all so personally."

"I'm not!" he snapped and turned away from her, his gaze falling to the floor. It wasn't their taunting that was making him angry, he'd almost forgotten about it actually, until she'd brought it up anyway. It was the fact that she...

"Then would you tell me what your problem is?" she had snapped her dark head up again and was staring at him with raised eyebrows, her gaze scolding and expectant. He scowled in return, how was he supposed to talk to her when she looked at him like that?

As if he were a child...

"It doesn't matter," he responded quietly and stood, the chair scraping loudly against the ground and successfully shaking the silent air in the kitchen. He was hoping she'd let him walk away, go to his room where he could submerge himself in homework.

"Ichigo," now she was frowning and he forcefully ignored her concern. "What is up, like seriously? I don't understand why you're acting so-"

"Am I a child to you?" he clenched his fists, his back turned to her. "Are all of us _humans_ children in your eyes?" He didn't give her a chance to reply before turning, his intense gaze meeting with hers. "Because I can tell you right now that I'm _not_ a child. It doesn't matter that I'm only actually seventeen, the fact is that I've lived enough the last two years to have lived a lifetime, and if you can't see that then maybe you-"

"Ichigo!" She was angry, apparently his short temperament was getting to her. She didn't have the patience to deal with his outbursts. "I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"Today at lunch you and Renji acted like... like..."

"Like what Ichigo?" she was standing now, her dark gaze boring up into him. It didn't seem to matter that he was over a foot taller then her, they stood on equal ground.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed. "You just..." He shook his head angrily and growled. He didn't know how to explain it to her, he couldn't even explain it to himself! "You're so much..." He sighed, his own frustration lighting his head afire. Rubbing his temples, he took in deep breaths.

"I'm what?" she placed her fists on her hips, a frown deepening the sharp angles of her face. "What is your problem Ichigo? I know you're not a child. Where is this coming from?"

"You don't understand," he muttered, more angry with himself than her. "Just... drop it okay?" She narrowed her eyes at him, she wasn't going to let it go.

"No, tell me what's bothering you," her demand was heated and her anger only succeeded in fueling his own back up. "Otherwise this will bother you forever and I'm not going to deal with you yelling at me all the time."

"It's none of your business," he ground out.

"_Tell me_ Ichigo. I'll force it out of you if I have to," she threatened and rounded the table so she was standing right before him, their angry stares piercing the air like laser beams. He scoffed, obviously hinting that he doubted she could.

"Just let it go Rukia," he hissed. "It doesn't matter anyway." Turning on his heel, the younger shinigami headed towards the stairs, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. He could hear the dark haired woman growling audibly behind him.

"Why are you doing this?" she yelled suddenly and he turned abruptly, his eyebrows furrowed. Her face was red with anger, her fists balled at her sides. "Why do you keep running away from your problems? Why can't you be honest with me?"

"I'm not running away from anything!" he lied and was about to fire his argument further, but she wouldn't have any of it.

"Yes you are!" she accused, her finger pointed directly at his face. "You're always running away from your problems! You ran away from being a shinigami in the beginning, you ran away from your hollow powers and being a vizard, you run away from everything! The only time you ever act is when someone needs a hero!"

"Fuck you!" he hadn't meant to say it, but she was egging him on and he didn't need her pointing out every cowardly action he'd committed. No one was perfect. "I am _not_ running from anything now and-"

"You're running away from _me_!" her last was almost a shriek, her eyes flashing with more distress then anger and he gaped, suddenly sobered. "Why Ichigo? Why can't you just... just _tell me_?" He tried to say something, but no words came. "I get it, okay? I get that you're insecure about... about our age difference. And I've been trying to get you to understand that it doesn't matter! I've chosen to live here instead of Soul Society, in _your_ house, with _your_ family. I go to _your_ school and sit right next to _you_! Isn't that hint enough for someone even as dull as you are sometimes?"

"I thought that-"

"Well you thought wrong Ichigo!" her gaze drifted to the floor, a loud exhale leaving her small frame. "Why are you so afraid of me...?" Glancing back up at him, he saw something in her gaze he'd never witnessed before. Even when she'd faced the fiery bird at her execution, he hadn't seen it.

Rukia, in his mind, was the fearless, most beautiful woman he'd ever met, and would _ever_ meet.

So why was there now a striking kind of apprehension in her eyes?

"I'm not... afraid of you..." he wasn't quite sure where to go with this, what he was trying to say, but he was unnerved by her eyes. Rukia wasn't supposed to look like that. She was his support, his reason to get up in the morning. How could he possibly function when she appeared so out of character?

"Then why can't you be honest with me?" her voice cracked slightly, her whispered words a noose around his heart. "Why does it matter to you how long I've lived, or how many other men there have been in my life?" He flinched. "Why are you, of all people, so intimidated by me?"

"I'm... I don't know..." he rubbed his temples once again, his head aching with the strain of his consciousness. He didn't have an answer for her, not one that he was really willing to share at least. Did she really want to know that the thought of other men touching her pissed him off to no end? That just considering the very notion drove him into a rage? What would she think if he told her that he was afraid of her experience, that he would somehow be inadequate? What if, afterwards... she realized how innocent he really was? What if she disregarded him as a child in the end?

His thoughts he knew were childish in themselves, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to prove to her that he was a man, that he deserved her attention and _only_ him. But how was he supposed to do that if so many others had already proven as much to her? He didn't have a clue where to start, thus he could prove nothing because he had nothing to prove!

"Yes you do," he hadn't even noticed how she had approached him, her shorter figure glancing up at him. There were only inches between them, he could feel her soft breath on his chin. "Stop lying to me Ichigo." Reaching up, she cradled his face in her small hands and pulled him down a little. "Stop lying to _yourself_."

She could feel the shuddering breath he inhaled within her grasp, his eyes closing as he tried to avoid her intent gaze, his mouth forming a kind of grimace. She didn't understand why this caused him so much pain, why the thought if them being... more than just "them" was so difficult for him to accept. She knew he wanted it, yet he fought it every chance he got.

"I am..." he had reached up to grip her wrists with his own large hands, his face turned away. He didn't withdraw from her hold on him, he appeared to be in limbo. He was stuck between rejecting and accepting her advances. "I am afraid," he whispered, his soft brown eyes finally opening to meet her deep night sky orbs. "I am afraid that if I were to... that I would lose you because I'm... not good enough." Those were the simplest terms in which he could voice his thoughts. Hopefully she would understand.

"Ichigo," she shook her head and smiled, her face relaxing. "You are more than good enough," she stood on the tips of her toes, she was just barely tall enough to look him in the eyes now, his head tilted downward. "You've proven you're worth over and over," he could feel her thumbs caressing his cheeks and he sighed into her soft massages. "There is no one in this world more worthy than you." She laughed, "So you're a little inexperienced," he blushed. "That's something that is more than easily fixable. You've been there for me, saved my life too many times, for me to cast you aside just because your insecure about relationships."

"I'm a little more than insecure," he confessed softly, another wave of redness coloring his complexion. "More like completely and utterly ignorant of everything." She smiled wider, her grin turning to one of mischief.

"Ignorance is bliss, no?" she whispered and leaned the rest of the way up, her eyes closing as she pressed her soft lips to his. Eyes widening momentarily, his entire body froze in panic. But it only took a second of her insistent movements for him to get the message.

Relaxing, he acted on impulse. Pulling her closer, he lifted her small form up into his arms before he caused any serious damage to his neck (she was so short). Closing his own eyes, he tried to get the hang of this whole mess.

**oOo**

"How much longer do we have to wait?" his voice was bored, his eyes drifting around the room lazily before finally settling on the table in the canter of the darkened room. It was the only thing emanating any light, and on top of it laid what looked like half of a human body.

"Longer than this," his counterpart snapped irritably at his companion. They had been comrades for ages, since Aizen's war, and still remained as such. That didn't mean however that their relationship wasn't strained. One appreciated the patience that came with experimentation, while the other was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Together, they made a deadly pair, and rather annoying company. "We need to cause him more distress," the scientist walked around the glowing table, his bone glasses glaring in the limited light. "Even now this being exhibits enough power to cause some transformations, but to make him whole we need-"

"Yeah, I know, I know," the taller one rolled his eyes and rose from his seat, his clothes jingling in the darkness. Walking across the room to join his counterpart, he stared down at the shorter man. "So who's the next target then?"

"Well," turning on his heel, the owner of the lab strayed to the darkness.

The other scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. Staring down at the body on the table, his look of distaste deepened.

"And why the hell is this guy fuckin' transparent?" he was about to poke the specimen, but his movement was halted by a firm, thin hand. "I mean I get the whole 'half there' bullshit," he snapped his wrist from the other mans grasp, "but you never said anything about him bein' see-through."

"I'm still looking into it," the scientist muttered, obviously unhappy that he couldn't come up with a viable answer. The other shrugged, it wasn't worth his time to think about it. "As for your other question..." Pulling a small round device out of his pocket, the experimenter smiled. Pushing a button, it lit up and cast a large holographic screen above their heads. "This is something new I invented recently, and it's how I knew to send that hollow after that girl."

"A plan that failed miserably," the other muttered, but was ignored.

"It traces spiritual footprints," he started excitedly. "Like genes, the way in which spirit particles are altered upon entering the body share a common kind of mark among those of similar types. It's more intricate than you might imagine. It can only trace family members right now, because the spiritual intake is similar between related souls, but soon it should even be able to trace those that have been introduced to a certain _kind_ of spiritual consumption." Tapping the small round object, it zoomed in on a small island, then on a small town. "I've already punched in the combination to trace similar types of reiatsu." He pointed to the screen. "See that small dot, right there? That's our next target."

His comrade cocked his head to the side.

"I don't mean to doubt your abilities," the other started with a laugh, "but I can understand what those percentages at the bottom of the screen mean, and based on those, the reiastu code you punched in has almost nothing in common with the one you're telling us to attack."

"A small similarity is all you need," he explained. "There are so many differences, millions, billions, in how spirit particles are consumed that finding even one similarity almost guarantees a relation." The other nodded in understanding.

"Too bad we didn't get samples of all those traitor Espada before they left, then maybe we could have blown up a few more of them." The taller sighed as if it were all a fine memory. "You should have seen Ulquiorra's face when that menos blasted him. Priceless. It was plain old luck that I happened to see him." The other rolled his eyes.

"Well you did a fine job of killing him," the other scoffed. "We probably could have used him later you know." The other furrowed his eyebrows skeptically.

"Please," he was disgusted. "He went through that portal with the rest of them, he was just as weak. The only one of them I'd gladly take back would be Grimmjow, he didn't stay long enough to know what would happen if he went to the human world."

"All the more reason to be rid of him," the other scowled as he walked back over to the table and stared down at his specimen with a frustrated look on his face. "In any case, don't you have a job to attend to?"

"You're lucky you know," he started, his shoulders sinking as he began his walk from the room. "Here I am doing all you're dirty work. Still, if what you say will happen in the end then I guess I can be patient. I think I'll take the menos this time." He waved as he found the door. "Here I go, off to blow some humans to smithereens... again."

"Have fun!" the other taunted in a sing-song voice, not even turning to wave his counterpart off.

**oOo**

She couldn't believe him! _She_ was going to be the one paying the dentist bill. She didn't buy Bakers Chocolate so he could _eat_ it. How the sixth even managed to consume it she could only fathom, the stuff was disgusting without anything added to it. Then again, he ate some of the strangest things sometimes.

Sighing, she tried to push her anger back down into her stomach, determined not to start anything with her blue haired son once she returned home. Still, it was a little absurd. She didn't mind the walk to the store, but it was the _principle_. Plus, if she'd driven, she would have only ended up getting home just in time for her anger to be at its peak.

The teenager should count himself lucky.

Readjusting the grocery bag in her hand, she shivered as a chill ran up her spine. It was getting colder and colder everyday. Granted, she had lived in the human world for a year already, but it still surprised her every morning at how chilly it could get, and how cloudy and gloomy it was sometimes, this very day as an example.

It was still happier than Hueco Mundo though, so perhaps she shouldn't complain.

Still, she _despised_ the thought of the snow season. Everything was frozen, there wasn't a calm flow to anything, and water became ten times more argumentative. She didn't have the patience for it. Not to mention how the heat bill skyrocketed. Not that it was a huge deal or anything, but it was just one more reason for her to loath winter. And she wasn't alone in her opinion either. Ulquiorra was the only one of them that seemed to like the snowy weather.

She scoffed, it was just like him. A cold exterior could only be drawn to a cold season...

Stopping, she took in a quick breath, _another_ kind of chill sprinting through her body. Slowly turning, her green eyes fell onto the cloudy skies. And as she had expected, their was a rip running across the heavens, splitting the clouds and darkening the atmosphere.

A menos reared it's ugly head.

Narrowing her eyes, she knew it was only a matter of time before more appeared behind it. She could sense them, an entire army of them.

This would _not_ happen again.

Dropping her shopping bag, she walked out into the street, a gust of wind casting an eery howl across the area as her white trench coat flapped against her bare legs, her skirt doing little to shield the area her jacket had fled.

Somewhere overhead, crows cawed, flying low above the street, their screams falling on deaf ears.

**oooooooooooooooooooooo**

So if this story were divided into parts, this would be the end of part one, but it's not so... yeah, whatever. In any case, sorry for the longer than usual wait on the update. Not only did a I have a bit of trouble with this chapter, but I went home last weekend and didn't have time to worry about this what with doing other things.

Anyway, hope this chapter wasn't one to disappoint. It's a long chapter, but considering all the weird stuff that happened in this chapter, you're probably all still left wondering...

In any case, a little Ulquihime fluff, some Ichiruki fluff, some Grimmtat... fighting? Well yeah, and you got a little bit of mysterious happenings as well.

Still, all are wondering, as they have been for the last forever, what is up with Harribel?

Some more characters will be introduced next chapter. I guess it's about time I brought Soul Society in. They're bound to be getting suspicious with all those menos showing up. Hopefully nothing bad will happen to our hollow friends...

Anyhow, I just wanted to let you all know that I appreciate all your support for this story, you guys give me tons of inspiration. I read all the reviews and love how responsive you all are to this story. I've written a lot of fanfiction and never received feedback like this story gets. So thanks you so much, I love to hear your thoughts!

Where is all the love Keigo? I'm giving it away!

Toodles!


	13. Accused Behind Silver Bars

**The Definition of Love**

_"In your life you seem to **have it all**  
You seem to have **control**  
But deep **within** your **soul**  
**You're losing it**  
You never **took** the **time**  
**Assume** that **you're** to **blame**  
You think that you're **insane**  
Won't you **spare** me_

_I know the **breakdown**  
Everything is gonna **shake** now someday  
I know the **breakdown**  
Tell me again am I **awake** now maybe  
You can find the reason that **no one else is living this way"**_

**_Breakdown - Tantric_**

**Chapter 13: Accused Behind Silver Bars**

"You have been quiet for a while," his voice was questioning and she glanced up at him, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly. They sat on one side of her couch, her body tucked in the corner as her bare legs hung carelessly across his lap. Appearing as close together as possible, it was no surprise that they weren't taking advantage of the full extent of the sofa. Her head leaning against his shoulder, she buried her face in his shirt, reveling in the way he ran his fingers through her hair, his arm draped across the back of the chair, but also loathing the fact that it allowed him such a keen perspective of her face.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he placed his free hand on her thigh, his head leaning down ever so slightly to get a better look at her blushing visage.

"You are embarrassed?"

"You're going to be mad," she muttered into his shirt and he furrowed his brows. Generally when she said that, it was true. He wanted to know anyway. Waiting, he held his patience so as not to pressure her to continue. She would explain herself, she always did. And with a soft sigh, her grey eyes darted to his green ones. "It's silly," she started. "But I can't help being curious," her face grew yet another shade redder. "It's about... what Grimmjow said earlier, at lunch."

His face darkened, his body stiffening slightly. "It would be in your best interests to consider very carefully what you wish to know before asking." He knew what she was getting at, and he in all honesty didn't want to elaborate on any of it.

"I know..." her face dropped and his regained some of its softness. It was a kind of balance they had subconsciously developed. He would frown, she would smile. Her face would drop, his... would make an attempt to do the opposite. He had considered the notion of returning her grin, but had then decided that it would be all too foreign on his face. Best to just leave those muscles unused. She knew when he was pleased, he didn't need to smile to prove it. "It's just that... I never really considered you having... 'past relationships.' I guess I'm... kind of jealous because apparently you're more experienced than I thought..."

"I would hardly call anything of such a nature within my past a relationship," he stated. "Hollow do not have 'romantic' relationships, at least not of the nature you are implying, not that I have heard of anyway." He flushed slightly, this was a little embarrassing, "And when he says that I have... 'experience,' it is probably not the kind of thing you would like to hear about." She cast him a questioning look and he sighed, his eyes drifting elsewhere.

He understood the importance of physical contact in the human world, of course those views differed greatly from anything he knew. _His_ perspective on sexual relations between people was rather indifferent. He didn't make a big deal out of it, but he wasn't going to go sleep with every woman in Karakura either. Anything and everything he had experienced that could be characterized as similar was... animalistic and barbaric by comparison. Upon becoming a more 'civilized' being, sometime over fifty years ago when he'd reached one of the levels above a menos, he had been able to pull his passion and rage under control, something even some Vasto Lorde failed to do. Needless to say he had remained inactive sexually since. The thought of what that implied in Hueco Mundo sickened him now, and he was ashamed to admit he had once been a part of that. And it wasn't just because he was a human. Even as the fourth Espada he'd felt the same way.

Yet now this woman was asking him about it? What was he supposed to say? That hollows, when they weren't devouring souls and trying to wipe out the human race, fucked like rabbits? Like killing and murdering, it was one of the few traits the masked souls had inherited from their previous selves that was then exaggerated to the point of disgust. What she was envisioning couldn't possibly amount to the raw actions hollows commenced in when the need arose. And he wasn't sure he wanted to give her access to those visions. Hollow life was the equivalent of underground orgy parties in the human world at times. It was frowned upon by even some hollows themselves, which means that it was most definitely beyond the decency of what a human could handle.

Not only that, but if she knew... what would she then think of _him_?

"Please tell me," she sat up now, her legs tightening around his lap as she leaned forward, her forehead coming in contact with his. "I know that maybe it's a little rude, but I feel like I know nothing of you or your past. Was there some other hollow that you were infatuated with?" His frown deepened.

"I told you Woman, relationships are not like they are here," he pulled away from her, his eyes focusing on the couch. "All the term implies is strictly physical. One partner after another, a different scenario every day. If the one you were with had a name, you never knew it. It was just... a passing kind of exchange. If you happened to come across each other and neither were hunting then... why not...?" He shrugged, not daring to look into her eyes. He was far too ashamed at the moment to do that. "It was more barbaric than even animals. At least they have some preference in choosing a mate. Hollow do not. Male, female, it did not matter who or what the both of you were, or the three or four of you, there was always a way. Maybe it was an excuse to contain some of our humanity, or maybe it was just another path in throwing it away. It does not matter in the end I suppose."

There was silence momentarily before she replied to his testy explanation. "But..." she sounded thoughtful and he hesitantly glanced up at her, a little surprised to find that she had not shied away from him in any way. "Some hollow are so big, and others really small, how would that... even work?"

He gaped. He had just explained to her one of the most graphic, horrific parts of hollow life, and that's all she could come up with?

He did truly wonder about her sanity.

"..." he glanced at the ceiling, contemplating a reply, "A lot of this happens when hollows are at the lowest of levels, so they are all... about the same size... I guess..." He'd never really thought about it before. But if a larger hollow destroyed a smaller one during... well he guessed it wouldn't have mattered...

"So..." she cocked her head to the side, her forefinger on her chin, "basically it's like a recreational activity?" He furrowed his brow at her, not at all sure how to reply. How did one reply to such an... understated observation? "Well that's kind of..." she blushed, "wild and crazy I guess..."

"That is what hollows are," he snapped. "How many times must I explain this to you before you understand Woman? All aspects of hollows revolve around what humans would characterize as monsters. There is nothing good about them." She pouted, apparently his scolding of her was not well received.

And then he saw it flash across her eyes, it had finally occurred to her and she paled.

"Wait..." her gaze drifted to his hand on her thigh and, feeling suddenly self conscious, he removed it. "Then... you... when Grimmjow said that... he meant..." The fourth sighed. He warned her not to ask. Now _he_ was going to have to pay for it.

"At one time in my life," blocking out all emotion, he found it easiest to talk about this as though he were reading it out of a textbook, "I was part of the continual obsession as well. Yes, this is what Grimmjow was referring to." He dared not look at her, he couldn't bare to. He felt suddenly very dirty despite the fact that it had all happened over half a century ago. And with that filth came self-loathing. That his hands, scarred and bloodied from his past, dared touch her now was unthinkable. Just because they were incased in human flesh, it didn't change what they had done. The horrific activities he'd partaken in, murder, sex, obsession, it was all suddenly very suffocating. It weighed down on his shoulders, almost painfully.

She deserved someone much better, someone who actually deserved to _be_ alive to begin with. She was too pure, too innocent, for his tainted hands to touch.

"Don't do this," he heard her voice ease it's way into his mental cage, the soft tones slipping between the bars. She moved closer to him, her arms wrapping around his middle, and he rejected the sudden urge to respond with the same motion. Instead he remained stiff, his stomach dropping to his feet. "Don't close me off," her voice, though soft, was firm and determined. Burrowing closer to him, she buried her head in his chest. "It's in the past, it doesn't matter now. You're not a hollow anymore, and even if you were I wouldn't care."

"How can you say that?" his voice was whispered, rasping, _hurting_. "How can you stand to be around me? You continue to learn more and more terrible things about me, yet you are still here? How can you just bypass every transgression laid against me?"

"Ulquiorra," she leaned back now, her gaze staring intently into his, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders. Despite how he tried to avoid her silver orbs, he was drawn back to them. There was a kind of refuge within them, a safety he'd never known before. "It's not a life you chose, it just... is. You can't change the past and neither can I, but I like you too much to let something like that get in the way of... us. So you were a hollow and you did what... hollows do. It's over now though," her right hand drifted to his cheek. "That... _misery_ is over now, so why let it get in the way of the present?"

"You are too much of an optimist," he stated quietly, "and you give me too much credit. I could have refused, rejected, that life if I had truly wanted to. That you-"

"Can't you just forget about it?" her voice raised slightly and he was a little surprised by her forwardness. "And when I say that I don't mean it literally, I'm not asking for the impossible, but you have to let this go Ulquiorra. If you don't then it's going to devour you from the inside out." He saw now where her charge stemmed from. Worry was imbedded in her gaze.

Worry for him.

"I hate seeing you like this, filled with guilt over something you can't do anything about. I'm not afraid to say it, you were misled," he flinched, "and your nature as a hollow was taken advantage of by Aizen, but you're a human now, you have a clean slate. Can't you see that? When hollow's are sent to Soul Society, they're purified of their sins. You have been too, you've been given a second chance." Her thumb caressed his face and he sighed, his eyes closing. It was a fruitless task to forgive himself as she so easily did, to create the excuses she did, but she was right, he couldn't let his past rule his future. He'd been given a second chance at life and it would be a waste, a sin, to throw that away.

Opening his eyes once again, his heart jumped to his throat when he saw her staring back. _This_ was what it meant to live. _Now_ he understood. Life was precious because of moments just like this one. That he could wake up and know that some time during the day he'd see those beautiful eyes. It was enough, _more_ than enough. She had become his reason to live, and without her... he was nothing...

How many people around the world woke up in the morning and felt this way as well? How many truly adored another person the way he adored her? She talked of this, _them_, so lightly, as if anyone in the world were capable of reaching such a high, yet it seemed such a rare and precious gift.

And if he were to lose her? Either through death or via how he had almost thrown her away earlier that day?

The thought was beyond terrifying. He couldn't even fathom such an event, yet death... death was always right around the corner, on ones very doorstep. He knew that... he knew that better than anyone.

How many lives just like this had he destroyed? How many beloveds had perished, leaving their lives behind to those who couldn't imagine a world without them? Innocents, men, women, children; lovers, haters, people... human lives... universal souls...

And he'd only had to raise a single finger in order to destroy them all. And for that perhaps they were weak, but that didn't mean they should be destroyed. This Woman, this wonderful person, was just as perishable as the rest, yet she was the strongest being he had ever met. He should not have been seeking to eliminate the human race, he should have sought to protect it from monsters just like himself. They had something more important, more powerful, than anything ever concocted in any of the worlds.

Now he understood what she meant when she said her heart was strong because of her friends, because of her loved ones. His was weak and only held up by her. Without that support, he would fall back into despair, fall back to where he had been before. A broken remnant of something far more useless then even the most vulnerable human. And he had wanted to drag her to that place as well, destroy the very people that made up her heart.

She had welcomed him into that sacred place, even given him the key. Trusted him with it despite how he'd tried to rip it apart.

That was why she was stronger than him. She could keep going, keep forgiving, even in the darkest of times with the darkest of people. She would rise again and again, but he... he would turn to ash unless saved by her good graces. She was his lifeline.

And he had been able to easily digest the thought of killing her at one point?

Paling more so than usual, the fourth saw the world around _her_ eyes twist and shake with sudden nausea, those bright grey beams the only thing holding him upright. The thought of his existence without her... Hueco Mundo flashed before his eyes. White walls, floors... emptiness. A place he never wanted to revisit.

"Ulquiorra?" her voice was suddenly panicked and she clasped his other cheek in her open hand, holding his head steady as his eyes widened, his mouth parting slightly in search of something to quench his sandy, parched throat. Nothing came though, nothing that could ease this terrible dryness.

"What have I done?" the words came out in a scared rasp, his throat barely able to utter the question. A chill was running up his spine and spreading to every part of his body, making his hands shiver as he pulled them up to his face. Forcefully, and unconsciously, he shed her hands from his being so he could replace them, his fingers running along his scalp as he tried desperately to pull the hair out by its roots. A lame attempt to deter the agony now being inflicted on his soul.

It was a vengeful, vindictive kind of pain. His own conscious trying to make him relive all the death he had inflicted on others. He was ashamed to say that it was failing for even this pain was minuscule compared to the blows he had directed upon the world.

"Ulquiorra, stop this," she was calling to him, her voice the only thing capable of ringing out above all the noise bombarding his skull. Glancing up slowly, his emerald gaze once again met her silver one, the calmness her stare brought sweeping over him and stifling the screaming in his ears.

"_What have I done_?" he repeated, his voice barely audible. "All those people, I... I..." Her face broke, a strangled gasp escaping her lips. He gulped, his breath coming in shakily and without much substance. "Without even thinking, I de... I didn't even consider..."

"Ulquiorra," she was whispering now, her hands reaching up to his face once again. Gently, she wrapped her fingers around his wrists and pulled his hands down. He didn't fight her, he couldn't. "That's not you anymore," reaching up once again, she ran her thumbs beneath his eyes, attempting to deter the tears he hadn't even known had started to breach his defenses. "That was a different person."

His brows came together as he watched the water well in _her_ eyes, the fact that he himself had started the trend slipping his mind as the thought of her being upset took over his senses. It didn't matter what kind of guilt clenched his heart, she now and forever came first. She didn't need to shed tears, not for him.

"Do not cry," he whispered, his voice papery and breathless, the pain that had been released on his soul freezing, become docile until there was once again an appropriate time for it to attack. It stood no chance against the concern for her that cascaded, bursting, through his veins. It would bury itself again, a ticking time bomb hidden beneath layers of plastic flesh.

Yes, he would continue to hide, for her sake. She had done enough already, she didn't need to feel the weight of his intellectually binding emotions as well. He was an expert at this sort of thing, and the uncontrolled burst that had surfaced with his striking realization would be tamed again, tethered and roped, forever chained to the prison within which he kept himself.

His soul, forever bound behind silver bars.

"You started it," she sniffed as she once again cupped his cheeks in her soft palms, her legs straddling his waist. He sighed, relishing in her touch. It kept him grounded, kept the darkness at bay. Kept what he had once been behind barbed wire fence, not dead and forgotten, but at a safe distance... for now...

She leaned her forehead against his, her breath breathing new life into him as it engulfed his face. He closed his eyes.

"Thank you," his voice was wisp, a light breeze against her nose. She smiled slightly, an ironic kind of emotional show. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his gently.

He knew he didn't have to explain further than that, she knew what he was thanking her for, there was no reason to voice it. He owed her so much, more than his life, and he would never be able to pay her back. Yet she stayed.

She stayed...

**oOo**

The tattooed shinigami scratched his red head, his eyes glancing around the silent area quizzically. Clouds were forming overhead, a storm was coming, and it looked to be a violent one, a slow moving threat that wouldn't breach them until the next day, but that was the only thing he could detect.

Glancing down at the phone in his hands, he tightened his lips into a frown. He could have sworn there had been a hollow here, right above this empty, deserted street, yet when he'd arrived, nothing. The signal had vanished. It had looked to be a very powerful force as well.

Had someone else destroyed it? Had it returned to Hueco Mundo?

Ichigo and Rukia weren't anywhere near here, and neither were any of the other humans capable of ridding the world of hollows. All their reiatsu imprints had been scanned into his phone, and none showed up on the radar.

Maybe this thing was broken...

But he could have sworn he'd sensed a bit of the monster himself, whatever it had been. Still, he wouldn't count on his abilities in that area, perhaps he'd been wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

Sheathing his sword, the shinigami darted away from the empty scene, his presence quickly forgotten by the crows that looked on from their perches, their eyes knowing.

**oOo**

"Where did you go?" Grimmjow sat sprawled across the couch, his lanky form draping rather gracefully across the leather surface. But Harribel wasn't one to appreciate his artistically crafted form. In fact, she'd never even really noticed it. "And where's Starrk, I thought he got back last night?" The blue haired mans curiosity jolted her to her senses.

"Starrk left again earlier today while you guys were at school, some kind of urgent call," she didn't look at her questioning son as she unpacked the chocolate she'd just purchased. "And I was at the grocery store replacing what you consumed without permission." Despite the sudden sharpness of her voice, the sixth didn't appear fazed. He was narrowing his eyes at her.

"Starrk's car is still here," he commented suddenly, his blue eyes turning suspicious. Harribel sighed, she really wasn't any good at lying. So long as she didn't face him...

"So what?" she commented dryly. "So I drove him to the airport today, I didn't know that was a crime." Finished with her explanation, she turned to him finally, her arms folded under her breasts. His lips were pouting, he'd bought it.

"Where's Ulquiorra?"

"Since when is it your job to keep track of everyone Grimmjow?" she asked with raised eyebrows. He continued to pout, his eyes drifting to the floor as he childishly huffed. The blonde woman's eyes softened. "You can stop worrying," she began. "Everyone is perfectly fine." He glared at her before rising to his feet.

"That's not why I was asking," he hissed, his lie blatantly obvious. Knowing this, he stomped out of the room and up the stairs, his heavy footfalls echoing through the house before he slammed his bedroom door closed.

Harribel frowned.

**oOo**

"Ugh, what could this possibly be about?" glaring at the walkway, the shorter of the two did his best to ignore his subordinates complaining, but it was growing more and more difficult by the second. "I mean, the least they could have done was schedule it for the afternoon, I stayed up so late last night," the woman yawned, almost as if to accent her exhaustion, "and I didn't even get to sleep in." Frowning, the strawberry blonde finally fell silent.

Sighing with relief, her superior was more than happy when he saw the door that led into the Captain-Commander's meeting room. This would surely shut Rangiku up. Even she knew better than to complain in front of a whole room of captains and lieutenants.

He hoped.

"Last one here Captain Hitsugaya," the short captain cast his partner a glare after receiving the comment from Captain Kyoraku upon entering the room. It was her fault; she wouldn't get off her lazy butt. He had considered leaving without her, but showing up without his lieutenant would look worse for his squad than being a little late.

Turning to the head Captain, the white haired youth bowed his head. "Apologies Sir," he muttered and received a simple nod from the older man. Straightening, he made his way over to his rightful place, Rangiku taking up her place behind him. She couldn't hold back another yawn.

"Then let us begin," the Head Captain grumbled, his cane stomping to the floor. "Captain Kurotsuchi," the captain of the twelfth squad glanced up at the calling of his name, his shrewd gaze going over the room. Toshiro did his best to avoid making eye contact, the older man really creeped him out. "Please commence in telling the other captains of your report." Nodding, the addressed sighed and began to speak.

"It seems," the scientist ran his one long nail along his bottom lip, "that the reiatsu in that little town in Japan is more unbalanced than originally thought. Actually, it appears to be getting worse." Some of the captains cast their lieutenant's skeptical glances, but none seemed overly upset about the news. "It is an extremely spiritually charged area, and there are many strong spirit beings that inhabit the town, so one would think that they would be the cause, but that is not the case. Hollows are causing the imbalance. Normally, even with the large influx of hollows since the war, they would not be able to actually cause the change themselves, but a large army of menos have now twice tried to breach the borders of the World of the Living." The man paused and sighed again. "They are having an effect, and it is not a positive one. At first I thought it was a coincidence, the first breach that is. I assumed that the barrier between the Living World and Hueco Mundo had just frayed near a large group of menos, they travel in packs, but the second attack last night proves that theory incorrect. If the problem is not solved quickly then the imbalance could get to the point where Karakura becomes an open portal between the two worlds, and that would be a tedious mess."

"Well what is to be done about it?"Captain Ukitake questioned, apparently concerned as his eyebrows knitted together. "There are more than enough soul reapers in that area, what else could we possibly do to quell the number of hollows?"

"Lessening the numbers isn't the problem," the twelfth captain clarified. "Thus far the only theory we have is that the hollows are being drawn in by something more powerful than the fluxuating reiatsu levels."

"So we need to find the source of this strange attraction," Toshiro spoke up. He always tried to speak up during captains meetings. Otherwise he feared he wouldn't be taken seriously. He was the youngest captain after all, and even younger than some of the soon-to-be shinigami still in school.

"Is that why you called us here?" Captain Hisagi asked, his somber voice echoing drearily around the room.

"Yes," the Captain-Commander verified. "The reasons as to why we can't allow this to go on are obvious. The source of the mischief must be found and disposed of, and quickly." The Captains cast weary looks around the room, all awaiting what was probably an extremely irritating mission assignment. "This is a very delicate situation," the old man continued. "Unless this is taken care of by capable hands, things could end very badly. That is why I have decided to send an elite team of investigators to deal with the situation." The tenth captain sighed, he could already predict where this was going. "Two Captains will be sent to the World of the Living," glancing over at Ikkaku, the young Captain could tell by the look on his face that he knew where this was going as well, and wasn't excited about it either, "along with their lieutenants. Lieutenant Abarai is already there and can assist in the investigation along with third seat Rukia Kuchiki. And of course there are the humans and the Kurosaki family as well, and all those other misfits hanging about."

"So who's going?" Ikkaku questioned irritably. "Or do I even need to ask?" A few of the less strict captains cracked a grin as the Captain-Commander turned to his newly appointed subordinate, a decision that the hairless man was still angry about.

"Seeing as both you and the Captain of squad ten," Toshiro sighed, "are already familiar with the layout of the town and those who inhabit it, you will be issued this mission along with your subordinates." Neither Yumichika nor Rangiku seemed at all disheartened by this, but both their captains were apparently much the opposite. "You have one month before you must report back to me, but I hope the problem can be resolved before then." The two Captains nodded, both of them contemplating the miseries that awaited them, Ikkaku more so then Toshiro.

He was going to have to stay with Keigo and his crazy ass sister again. What a pain.

"All four of you leave later this morning," and with that simple statement, the head captain dismissed the group, his decision completely ruining the youngest captains day, and the next month too apparently.

He sighed.

**oOo**

"You look worried," the dark haired man stated as he sipped from his mug, the warm coffee draining down his throat, a comforting contrast compared to the windy, rainy, temperamental weather outside. It hadn't begun to storm yet, but the omen hung heavily in the air, it was only a matter of time.

His companion glanced over at him, his eyes darkened by the shadow of his hat.

"Perhaps," he stated pleasantly as he sipped from his own dainty teacup. "You're here to inquire into your daughters progress, no?" The larger man nodded. "Well she's coming along quite nicely, at least as far as a weeks worth of training is concerned. Though..."

"Yes...?"

"I know you're against it, but I think her speeding should be accelerated," the father narrowed his eyes, his face dropping. "I know it's stressful, but we don't have time to waste." Isshin cocked a questioning eyebrow. "There was another attack today," the blonde man's gaze drifted to the floor and he sighed. "I have strong evidence that suggests the hollow were after your family... again." The man let out an angry breath, his mug slamming down onto the table.

"What the hell is going on Urahara?" his tone was impatient, his face angry.

"You know I don't know... exactly," the blonde man scratched his cheek, "but it's safe to say whoever is doing this is after Ichigo, and will do everything they can to get to him. The reason I propose that we hasten Karin's training has to deal directly with her gaining the ability to protect herself. She will develop captain level reiatsu, she could be a great asset as well. We may need all the man power we can get."

"You say you want her to be able to defend herself, then you say you'll need her for her strength," the dark haired man shook his head, displeased. "If you want to simply make her reach her peak strength as fast as possible then say so, but offer me an explanation as well." Urahara's gaze fell.

"All I can tell you is that their is a soul at risk," he knew he could trust this man, but it was still difficult to reveal plans that could probably get him sealed up in prison forever. "I'm doing my best to hunt down as many powerful individuals as possible, and if your daughter has strength anything like her brothers, she will of some help... in the end..."

Isshin narrowed his eyes. That wasn't the explanation he'd wanted, but it would do for now.

"Fine," he crossed his muscular arms over his chest, "I place my daughters training completely in your hands, just... don't break her."

"If she has even a fraction of the strength her brother does," the blonde man's gaze softened, "the she will be more than fine." The father took comfort from these words, but would still stress day and night. That's just what parents did.

"Urahara," he started after a pause, "why do I feel like we're counting down, that time is running out?" Thunder echoed nearby, just a light rumble, one that drifted ever closer. "Why do I... feel more than just this storm on the horizon?"

"I learned something a long time ago," the owner of the shop sighed. "Time is always running out, and the horizon is always shrouded in clouds. All we can do is make the best of what we _can_ see."

"Which isn't much."

"Sadly enough."

Perhaps they would have continued with their intellectually stunting conversation had they not been suddenly interrupted. Turning, they watched as a slim figure appeared out of the back of the shop, her blonde hair tousled, her eyes tired.

She was worried.

"Tia?" Isshin furrowed his brows at her and she raised her head, her green eyes startled. She glanced from the questioning man to Urahara and back again, her cheeks flushing. Tightening her lips, she felt very suddenly like a juvenile school girl.

"Isshin," she stated quietly, her tanned arms crossing under her breast as she tried to stifle their shaking. She knew she couldn't hide her exhaustion, but at least her human body hid her injuries. "What are you doing here? Come to check on Karin?"

"Yes," he replied shortly, his dark eyes narrowing. "May I ask the same inquiry of you?" She paled and Urahara's gaze drifted away from her. What could she say to that? She'd been there all morning, since before Isshin had even shown up. What could she possibly say to him to justify her being in Urahara's training area for any extended amount of time?

Why hadn't the blonde man warned her?

She couldn't lie to him...

She could see the gears working furiously in his skull, he was figuring it out. For someone as experienced with Urahara as he was, it wouldn't take much. She froze, her eyes going to the shopkeeper, but he had now turned away from her.

What an ass, leaving her alone like this under those deep dark eyes.

The eyes she couldn't lie to...

"I was just-"

She wasn't able to complete her cracked explanation, for a heavy force was suddenly shrouding the air. All eyes snapped up, their attention running across Karakura in search of the source.

It wasn't a hollow.

"It's seems Soul Society has finally made an appearance for that is Captain Madarame's furious reiatsu," the blonde mans comment was strangely calm despite the danger they were now all in. "I suppose he has discovered something that does not bode well." Harribel's eyes hardened, her senses picking up more than just the captains fierce pressure.

"This can't be good," Isshin muttered as he rose from his seat. Urahara, sighing, followed suit. "Guess we should go break it up?" The blonde man nodded and Isshin turned to Harribel. "Hopefully nothing escalates, but I sense more Shinigami there than just that new captain," she nodded in agreement, "so your services may be in demand in order to protect your sons."

"I hope not," Urahara stated, apparently disheartened, "then I'd be in even more trouble than I already am." Isshin scoffed as the three walked out the front door of the shop, apparently saying that it was the scientists own fault.

"I hope not as well," Harribel muttered as raindrops sprinkled her hair. "Sure you'd have to deal with Soul Society, but _I'd_ have to deal with those two teenage wards of mine."

"Don't worry," Isshin laughed, "they'd understand, Ichigo did when he found out about me."

"Ichigo isn't a born and bred hollow," she defended as she brushed past the two men, her worry escalating as the reiatsu in the area weighed more heavily down on her with every passing second.

**oOo**

"Wake up," Grimmjow poked the pale man on the cheek furiously. It only took the sound of his voice to wake the other man, but he continued poking his cheek anyway, just to vent some of his pent up frustration. Irritating his younger brother always soothed him, but not quite as much as enraging Ichigo did.

"Touch me one more time and I will decapitate you in your sleep," Ulquiorra threatened, his green eyes flashing. The sixth merely raised a skeptical brow, not at all convinced, his finger hovering dangerously close to the younger's face.

Ulquiorra really wasn't a morning person.

"How did you get in here?" the now somewhat awake Espada asked, his voice retaining its monotonous drawl despite his lips being pursed. Grimmjow grinned before flopping down on a nearby chair.

"Door was unlocked," he shrugged and Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes.

"I left the door unlocked?" lifting her head from the fourths chest, Orihime stared at Grimmjow from behind the curtain of red hair that hindered her vision. "Well that was stupid, anyone could have gotten in!"

"Apparently," Ulquiorra continued to glare at the sixth. "What are you doing here?" The blue haired man yawned, apparently in no rush to answer his brothers question. Sitting up, Orihime scooted onto the other end of the couch and off of Ulquiorra's chest. He didn't seem pleased by this, but sat up as well.

"Well," he rubbed his nose, "Lilynette, Nel, and Harribel went to Urahara's place, and I was bored." He shrugged and Ulquiorra held back the sudden urge he had to strangle the man he was forced to live with. "Besides, you two need some parental control. And if you get to stay out all night and I don't," there was the root of the invasion, "then I'm going to make sure you understand the consequences. You're out all night and I annoy you all day."

"You are juvenile," the green eyed man stated, not at all enjoying how the sixth lounged in the chair as if he owned the place.

"Wait, is it morning already?" the redhead was on her feet rather suddenly, drawing both males attention. "Oh my gosh, we have to get ready for school, you should go home and change. Oh no, what time is it? This isn't good! What if the-"

"Woman," Ulquiorra snapped irritably and Grimmjow raised both his eyebrows. He really _wasn't_ a morning person. "It is Saturday, school will not be commencing any time soon. Calm yourself." Orihime halted in her jumping and appeared thoughtful.

"Oh..." her hands fell limply to her sides, her face suddenly relieved. Ulquiorra understood why, she was not anticipating seeing her friends again, not after what was revealed at the last lunch period. Hopefully they wouldn't be too disgusted by the realization. Ulquiorra knew he would have been. "Well in that case, let's make a big breakfast. I never get to cook for anyone other than Tatsuki," she jumped back into action and her boyfriend wished she'd go put on more clothes, at least with Grimmjow there.

Fortunately the sixth wasn't paying much attention.

"You guys will love it," she continued and Ulquiorra's stomach twisted as he imagined all the strange things she was going to try and feed them. Thus far he'd managed to avoid her cooking, thanks to her best friend warning him about it, but it was only a matter of time...

Grimmjow on the other hand appeared interested. The green eyed man wasn't sure if the sixth would like her cooking or not, he ate some rather strange things sometimes.

Turning to her kitchen, Orihime appeared determined on her mission, but was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Twisting on her heel, she began strolling in the opposite direction towards the door, a curious expression on her face. Ulquiorra was too heavy lidded to notice anything besides the way her hips swung when she walked, and Grimmjow guffawed when he noticed what was drawing his brothers attention.

Reaching for the handle, Orihime turned the knob and pulled the door open, wondering all the while who would be coming to visit her this early on a Saturday morning...

Well, besides Grimmjow.

"Hime!" a robust woman exclaimed and the redhead's heart froze, her grey eyes widening, he mouth dropping open in horror. A thousand thoughts came screeching to a halt in her head, her body stiff as a board. "It's been too long since we came to visit!"

"Rangiku, Toshiro?" her voice squeaked as the taller woman hugged her fiercely. "Wh-what are guys doing here?"

"It's Captain Hitsugaya," the younger man ground out irritably. Orihime gulped.

**oOo**

Ulquiorra's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat. All the sleep left him and he turned to Grimmjow who was staring at the door curiously, his head cocked to the side. But the fourths sense of self-preservation took over and after standing, he grabbed his brothers wrist and pulled him to his feet.

"Hey, wh-"

"Shut up!" the smaller hissed and clamped his hand over the sixths mouth as he dragged the blue haired idiot into the bathroom, the uninvited invader stumbling along as he tried to figure out what exactly was spurring Ulquiorra forward.

Tossing the older of the two into the small room, Ulquiorra shut the door, his breath catching in his throat as the two at the door made their way into the small apartment. The Woman was talking quickly, her nervousness obvious. They had to get out of there.

"What are you doing?" Grimmjow whispered in his ear, apparently understanding the concept of trying to stay hidden. Turning, the fourth glared, how dumb could he be, really?

"Did you not pay any attention when Aizen was telling us about the shinigami Court Guard Squads?" The blue haired teenager raise a skeptical brow as Ulquiorra continued to whisper fiercely at him. "I thought not. That is Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya and his lieutenant. They are shinigami." Grimmjow's blue eyes widened suddenly, understanding dawning on him.

"We need to get out of here!" the sixth hissed as he glanced hastily around the small room. They both spotted the little window a fair distance above the bathtub at the same time. Jumping into the tub, Grimmjow reached up and unhooked the latch.

"Push me up!" the blue haired man demanded as he held the window open. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes and considered refusing, but they didn't really have the time to bicker. Scowling, he jumped into the tub as well as Grimmjow attempted to scale the wall, his arms and head protruding out the window, his legs failing to get him the rest of the way through.

Sighing, the fourth listened as someone approached the bathroom.

"I hate this Gigai," a woman whined. "It can't hold any water." Eyes popping, Ulquiorra pressed his pale hands to his brothers jean clad behind and shoved, his fingers straining to hold up the weight. He felt Grimmjow tense at the contact, but the fourth didn't care.

"Get your hands off m- Gah, _Ulquiorra_!" his legs flailed about as the fourth squeezed, scowling, successfully causing pain to the older's rump. The action spurred Grimmjow forward and he launched himself out the window, his exclamation stifled as he crashed into the bushes outside the Woman's apartment.

Good thing she lived on the ground floor.

Grabbing the window's ledge, the green eyed man cast one final look back at the opening door before hefting himself up and forward, beyond thankful he was lighter than his counterpart. Not only that, but his bare feet allowed him to catch the shower wall, giving him the ability to climb that Grimmjow had lost while wearing his combat boots.

Shoving his head through the window, the fourth launched himself forward and out, the window clanking closed as he fell precariously into the bushes atop Grimmjow. His weight shoved the older into the dirt, stifling his startled yell.

Rolling off him, Ulquiorra glanced at the window, his heart frozen in his chest as he waited for the worst possible thing to happen. If that shinigami woman had seen him escaping...

They waited in silence, their eyes wide, their breath caught in their throats. But there was no screaming, no rushing out the door.

They'd made it.

But they didn't quite get the chance to sigh in relief.

"I can't believe those two left us behind," chills ran up both of the Espada's spines. "As if we'd be able to remember how to get to Inoue's house. _Shee_-it." Slowly turning their heads, the two escapees felt their stomachs drop to the ground at the sight of the two men headed across the parking lot towards them.

"Hey, look," and holding their breaths hadn't stopped them from being spotted. A thin, dark haired man was pointing in their direction. Both new individuals were clad in Karakura High School uniforms, but it was obvious they didn't fit the part. "What are those two guys doing outside Orihime's apartment?"

The two men approached them, trapping their victims as they stared quizzically down at two rather suspicious looking characters.

"If you're trying to rob the girl who lives here," the bald man smiled sadistically, a wooden sword thrown over his shoulder, "then you picked the wrong apartment punks." They didn't recognize them. Relief swept through Ulquiorra at this realization.

"Yup!" Grimmjow jumped to his feet, pulling his brother clumsily up with him. There was no way he was going to be caught by these guys of he could help it. Imprisonment was _not_ an option. "You're right, we were gonna rob her, but it looks like we've been caught," the blue haired teenager raised his hands defensively, a forced smile on his face "so we'll just-"

"Wait a second," the dark haired ones face become suddenly serious, his eyes narrowing dangerously at them as his keen mind digested the sight before him. Both Espada froze, their doom rushing towards them at speeds higher than they could understand, time slowing outside that one point of comprehension. "Don't these guys look familiar to you Ikkaku?" Ulquiorra closed his eyes and listened as thunder rolled overhead, light raindrops sprinkling his nose.

"No," the bald one stated nonchalantly, "why would I remember two chicken-ass punks?" Grimmjow bristled and Ulquiorra swiftly reached out to grab the sixths wrist before he did something stupid.

"Do you remember those images that we got after the war, the ones of Aizen's army? The ones that we took with us when we were looking for the Espada to make sure they were all dead?" Slowly, the hairless mans brain wrapped around the concept. "Looks like two made it out _alive_."

Grimmjow glanced at Ulquiorra, but the green eyed man didn't have any answers.

They were trapped by these two very powerful shinigami.

"Run," Ulquiorra hissed, lighting flashing overhead as time began to speed back up again. Casting their threats one final glance, the two Espada dove out of the bushes, fully aware that they stood little to no chance of escaping.

"Don't let them get away!" Ikkaku yelled and the two men sprang into action. Even in gigai's the two shinigami were light years faster than the human's they pursued. The two only managed to gain a few feet of distance before they were forcefully detained.

Grimmjow growled as he was pounced upon, the bald shinigami thrusting him to the asphalt without any pity for his useless human body. Ulquiorra heard multiple bones crack in his brothers body, probably ribs, as he landed. He released a strangled exclamation, his eyes rolling as his skull cracked against the ground.

The fourth was seized soon after, though he wasn't treated nearly as abusively. A hand around the back of his neck, he was forced to his knees, his arms bound behind his spine by his captors other strong arm. Moving from his neck, the long fingers transferred to his head, his hair gripped fiercely as his skull was pulled back, the front of his throat exposed, making him feel all the more vulnerable.

Glancing at his brother out of the corner of his eyes, Ulquiorra saw that the bald shinigami had his blue head pinned against the parking lot with his foot, arms pulled back until they looked like they might break.

Wind was whistling through the clearing, the storm had arrived.

"What's going on?" a small, white haired boy approached them swiftly, his turquoise eyes flashing as he cast his glance upon the group. His eyes widened as he recognized the two captured individuals, his face paling as his hands balled into fists.

"We found them outside Inoue's window!" Ikkaku spat, his reiatsu rising swiftly, purposefully suffocating the two victims. They couldn't breathe and sweat beaded on their foreheads, their bodies feeling both hot and cold. Ulquiorra felt like he was going to pass out at any moment.

"Oh my gosh!" snapping his eyes open despite the heavy weight on his whole body, the fourth spotted a blur of orange rushing their way. Probably his Woman. The image was quick to fade though, enveloped in blackness. "Quick, Toshiro, make the let them go!" Her voice was panicked. "You're going to **kill** them!"

"That would be the idea," Ikkaku stated through gritted teether. There was another flash of lighting, a roll of thunder, and without warning the clouds burst open, striking them fiercely with sharp daggers of water. It was the only sensation Ulquiorra could register. Just the pain as needles bombarded the sensitive skin on his face. The last sensation he would comprehend from the physical world.

"No, _stop_!" she was screaming now, her voice barely audible above the pelting rain and roiling thunder. He couldn't see her, couldn't touch her, he could offer her no comfort. She was screaming, and it was because of him. "You can't, let them go, _please_!" He would cause her pain even up until his last breath. "You'll kill them even before you understand! I'm begging you, let them go!"

He was so pathetic...

His heart was straining to beat in his chest, his lungs screaming for the air he couldn't find because of the colossal amounts of reiatsu being released upon him. He was going to die, and all because this weak human body couldn't withstand the pressure.

It wasn't fair, not after what he'd realized only the night before. What irony.

"Ikkaku," the darker one started hastily, "she's right, let up a little." And it was that easy. Suddenly he could breathe, and he took in a huge, shuddering breath, his head swimming at the abrupt change. He could hear Grimmjow coughing next to him, so the sixth had survived as well.

"Why are they so weak?" the bald one asked crudely.

"Because they're only humans!" the Woman exclaimed as she rushed forward. The man that was holding Ulquiorra released him abruptly, dropping his limp body to the ground as a familiar orange glow sprang up in the parking lot.

"Captain Madarame," heads snapping up, those among the group who could still move focused their attention on the three individuals approaching the group. "I suggest you follow your lieutenants example and release that teenager," Urahara's voice was beyond threatening, his cane held tightly in his hands. To his right stood Isshin Kurosaki, and his left...

"Another one..." the tenth captain eyed his former opponent, his jaw dropping. She was frowning, her arms crossed under her breasts as she stared at him with... pity? "What is going on?" he demanded again as Ikkaku hesitantly released Grimmjow and was allowed to back out of the orange shield.

"If you would calm down Captain Hitsugaya, I will instruct you on how to find an answer to your question," Urahara rebuked, his mouth pulled in a thin line. The short captain glared hard at the older man, his white hair falling in front of his face in wet strips. He said nothing. "Come to my shop and we will have a _friendly_ discussion."

"I'm not leaving these two," Toshiro stated and Isshin couldn't hold back an eye roll. Typical shinigami reaction, act before understanding. If the three hadn't shown up the whole situation probably would have ended with the two Espada's deaths, and then a hunt for their souls in Soul Society.

"Of course not," Urahara cooed sweetly, feeding the shinigami all kinds of verbal cake and candy. "Please, Orihime, if you would transport those two to my shop as we walk, it would be greatly appreciated." Nodding, the redhead gulped and summoned a shield beneath the two now unconscious Espada, her two most powerful rejecting forces present. Walking forward, she pushed the screen along. Their three saviors came up behind her, the shinigami last and a fair distance back.

"Where did everybody go?" Rangiku frowned as she rushed out of the apartment. "I can't believe they left without me! Captaaaaiiiin!"

**oOo**

Toshiro didn't even know what to say, he could hardly comprehend what Urahara was telling him to begin with, let alone begin to act on it. Being the senior Captain there, his opinion held more weight, thus Ikkaku would probably go along with whatever he said.

What to say?

"They're not the reason the hollows are coming though?" why did he always get caught up in these situations? One way or another, he always ended up smack dab in the middle of things. Hollows turned human? Preposterous. Impossible. Absurd.

"No, we don't know what's drawing them here yet, but it's not these _humans_," Urahara accented the last word and Toshiro narrowed his eyes. Though it did make things a fair bit more complicated. He couldn't very well drag them to Soul Society, only spiritual beings (or ones tampered with such as Inoue and Ishida) could enter there, and he couldn't _kill_ them without orders to do so.

The young man sighed, "I'm going to have to contact Soul Society about this and-"

"You can't!" Orihime interjected suddenly and Toshiro cast her a skeptical look. She had finished healing the two hollows, but they remained unconscious. The head of one, the dark haired individual, lay affectionately on her lap. It was really... very strange... Almost as if she were attached to it. "Soul Society will- will-"

"Calm down," Urahara commanded gently and she shut her mouth, her fingers imbedded in the hollows wispy wet locks, her own appearance much the same. "No one is going to contact Soul Society about this." Toshiro raised his eyebrows, his lips tightening dangerously. "There is no reason to."

"There is every reaso-"

"You were sent here on a very specific mission Captain Hitsugaya," the blonde man was deadly serious, his eyes varying degrees of danger. "You are supposed to find what is drawing the hollows here and since they are not, you have nothing to report."

"It's my duty... to..." Suddenly, the captain paused, distracted as he watched an approaching figure come up out of the shadows of the shop. "... K-Karin? Kurosaki?" His eyes widened slightly as the girl approached, a curious look in her dark eyes.

His heart dropped though, his throat tightening. She wore a deep black kimono, a sword as long as her body strapped to her back, a pale yellow hilt sticking up beside her head. She couldn't possibly be...

"Toshiro!" she stated suddenly, her eyes popping as the remaining figures of the group turned to look at her. Following her was another girl of about the same age holding the hand of a green haired toddler.

More hollows. How many were there now residing among the living?

The captains white head turned to Urahara, his gaze questioning.

"It is unfortunate," the blonde man sighed. "She was attacked by a hollow, her soul chain severed. We had no choice but to turn her into a shinigami." The shop keeper watched carefully as the captains face dropped at the news, a new plan forming in his head. He glanced back at the group of girls.

"Are you joking?" Karin smiled sadistically (she'd been hanging out with Grimmjow too much), her eyes focused entirely on the frowning tenth captain. "This is great, and now that you're here, I can see just how strong you are and how strong I have to get to be able to beat you."

"Excuse me?" Toshiro's brows furrowed, his frown deepening. "What makes you think you'd stand a chance against me? I'm a Captain." She only smiled wider, her fists balling in excitement.

"Well actually," Urahara laughed lightly, "with a little training, she could very well come to your strength level. It's very probable really." The young man was skeptical. "Her Zanpakuto is Enkouinmaru, a sister sword directly related to your very own." Karin licked her lips a this news was revealed. "And, like her brother, and you for that matter, she shows great promise. She will learn very quickly. She can already preform low level kidou."

Toshiro crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why didn't you send her to Soul Society to be trained if she's _so_ talented?" his question came out shortly despite how he wanted to hide his annoyance. Rangiku laughed silently from her spot sitting behind him. He could try and act as grown up as he wanted, but little things like this, the thought of having his position as prodigy uprooted, brought out the adolescent attitude buried deep within him. He was, after all, still a child as far as shinigami standards were concerned.

"Her family felt more comfortable with her here," the man replied vaguely, glad that the Captain was temporarily thrown for a loop and wouldn't ask more devastating questions. Hopefully. "Certainly you understand."

"Fine," the little captain rebuked as Karin made her way over to him. He tried to ignore her approach, his gaze focused on Urahara, but she still had that devious little smile on her face. "I will however have to report this to Soul Society as well, you can't very well start your own shinigami scho- what _are_ you doing?" Shying away from the precocious girl, he placed his hands on his head, trying to push her own grasp on him away. She was messing up his hair (not that the rain hadn't already)!

"Are you going to be around long?" she laughed, "cuz if you are you're wearing the wrong uniform, there's no way you'd get by as a High Schooler. You really should put on an elementary students uniform if you want to be convincing." Everyone could see the veins popping in his head.

"I am _not_ an elementary student!" he roared and the three shinigami sitting behind him stifled giggles. Karin shrugged, not at all fazed by his anger. Instead, she placed her hands on her hips and stared down at him quizzically.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he barely heard her question, he was too busy fuming. But once he comprehended his expression sobered as he contemplated what to say. She had, after all, walked in with those two hollow girls...

"Well Captain Hitsugaya here," Urahara hid his grinning face behind a fan, "has come to investigate the hollow suddenly invading, and has also decided to report our Espada friends to Soul Society," Toshiro's eyes widened, he hadn't wanted to say it like _that_. Isshin didn't bother hiding his grin, he knew exactly what the shop owner was doing. "They'll probably be executed, or imprisoned... or worse." Karin's face dropped, shock and betrayal evident, and the two hollow girls standing behind Urahara gasped. Turning, Harribel attempted to calm them.

"You're _what_?" Karin took a step back, her mouth gaping momentarily before snapping shut, her eyes glaring down at the young captain. "You're terrible! I can't believe I was actually happy to see you! You're nothing but a murdering, emotionless-"

"Karin, I'm-"

"-jerk that has no feelings! Lilynette and Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra, Harribel, Nel, and Starrk are my friends! You can't tell Soul Society!" She'd gone from yelling at him to pleading with him, though her eyes still held death. "I hate you, they haven't even done anything wrong and you're going to-"

"Karin!"

"-just be horrible! I won't let you!" Now she was _threatening_ him. "I'll fight you even though you're a lot stronger than me! And all you other shinigami too, and I'll get my brother to help too! He's friends with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra!" Isshin raised a skeptical brow. "He won't let any of you take them away, he's stronger than all of you!" Ikkaku scoffed. "You just wait, I'll-"

"_Karin_!" Sometime during her rant, Toshiro had stood. Grabbing the yelling girl by the shoulders, he shook her violently. He didn't even notice the scolding glare he was getting from her father. "_Shut up_!"

Karin took in a quick breath. "You can't tell me what to do you mean bully!" Rangiku couldn't hold back anymore, she started laughing uncontrollably. Ikkaku and Yumichika followed suit. "Fine, you go tell Soul Society! I'll fight you all if I have to! Ichigo went and beat you all up to rescue Rukia, and I'll do the same thing to rescue _my_ friends!"

Toshiro growled, ignoring the sudden urge he had to knock the raging girl upside the head. He only stopped himself in time when Isshin rose to his feet, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Get your hands off of me!" she continued yelling and trying to struggle away from him, but he held tight. "You're disgusting and I **hate** you!"

"Gah!" his eyes were wide with frustration. "I _can_ tell you what to do!" She shut her mouth abruptly, his loud voice ringing around the room. "You're a shinigami now and that means you have to do what _I_ say! I'm a Captain! I outrank you by-"

"Oh, I'm a _Captain_," Karin mocked, her voice higher than usual, her hands waving around her head in a silly manner. Even Urahara had to laugh now, but he was quiet about it. "Look at me, I'm _Toshiro_ and I like to inflict my superiority over others. I think I'm so _awesome_, let me boss around some more people and act all mean because I'm a _Captain_!"

The room dropped a few degrees.

"You will learn your place Karin Kurosaki!" he hissed and squeezed her shoulders tighter, his face flushing a dangerous shade of red. "That you dare speak to a Captain like this is absolutely offending! I don't know what you've been being taught but-"

"Oh shut up!" she snapped, her gaze hardened even more, the room surging upwards in temperature. Urahara began waving his fan. "You keep going on about how you're a Captain and you hold all this authority and blah, blah, **blah**!" He was completely taken aback when she shoved him backwards, and he tripped over his gigai's clumsy feet, falling flat on his back. "If you've got so much power then use it to be a good person instead of just answering to Soul Society! What good is a leadership role if you just follow all the rules?" He gaped and she turned on her heel, joining the still shocked and horrified Lilynette. "For not being a kid, you certainly like to act like one!" Casting him one final glare, she twisted and started to head back into the back of the building, Lilynette and Nel following close behind.

He knew he looked like an idiot, but he couldn't get over her audacity. He sat on the rug, his mouth hanging open. Who did she think she was, talking to him like that? He'd worked his ass off to get to the position he now had! What right did she have to tell him how to conduct himself?

"Wait Karin, Lilynette, Nel," the blonde shop owner waved them back into the room. With a growl, the Kurosaki girl came waltzing back, her arms crossed over her chest, her glare imbedding itself in Toshiro.

Snapping his mouth shut, the small captain returned the look.

"We need to get this figured out," Urahara sighed as if the whole situation was very tedious. "If you still insist on reporting to Soul Society then-"

Karin growled and Toshiro huffed. Rangiku knew that huff. He only sounded like that when he gave up on getting her to do paperwork. The strawberry blonde had to smile to herself. It's about time someone stopped putting up with her Captains crap.

"_Fine_!" he snapped. "We won't report anything yet. I'll simply watch for now and decide what to do in a couple of weeks." Karin's face broke into a triumphant smile, the room finally returning to its normal temperature. "But we need to get one thing straight," they all waited in bated breath for the little captains probably very mature and logical conditions. Standing, he pointed directly at Karin, "You have to address me as Captain Hitsugaya! Learn your place!" Rangiku face-palmed.

"Please Toshiro," the new shinigami dragged her lower eyelid downward and stuck her tongue out. "You can't tell me what to do." And with that she flipped around and dashed into the back of the building, Lilynette following. Nel stayed with Harribel.

"This is inexcusable!" he shouted after them, the room becoming very chill, ice forming in the corners.

Glancing up, Urahara gave Isshin a quick smile. The brunette could only sigh and shake his head.

**oOo**

"You were talking with your Zanpakuto?" he had his arms crossed over his chest, his captains cloak flapping in the wind. He'd been more than happy to shed that terrible gigai for a few hours. He'd sparred with Rangiku in the sky (Urahara claimed renovations in the underground training area), needing something to vent his anger before he encountered Kurosaki again.

"I was," she snapped irritably, "until you _interrupted_ me." She sat on the roof, her long sword spread across her lap. Trying to ignore her disrespect, he instead focused on her sword. It was eerie how similar to his it was. Almost the exact same height and width, the only difference was the color of the hilt and how the guard was twisted to form a squared outline instead of a diamond one like his.

He sat down next to her irritably.

"Are they really humans?" he didn't know where the question came from, but he felt like he could trust this girls judgment. She'd never fought them, never seen them in battle. She was innocent in her experience yet knowledgeable enough to understand where he was coming from.

He could feel her dark eyes on him, but he didn't turn to face her.

"I don't know what you mean by that," she finally replied, her attention turning to the darkened, now calm skies. The stars twinkled and the moon shone brightly. "I didn't know they had been hollows until after I already knew them. I was already good friends with Lilynette, so finding it out didn't really change anything." She shrugged, "And Harribel is real nice too. Grimmjow is kind of a prick, but his heart is in the right place... I think..." She _really_ had no idea how ironic that statement was. "Nel is just a little kid so... and I don't know Starrk that well. Ulquiorra is kind of standoffish, but he's head over heels in love with Orihime, so I guess he can't be all bad."

"What?" Finally the captain turned to her, one eyebrows curved skeptically. "Do you even know what you're saying? Hollow's don't... _love_, they're... hollows..." Ulquiorra was... in love with Orihime? That wasn't good...

"They're not," she argued. "They're humans." He was about to argue but she cut him off. "And don't say otherwise. People can change. I don't know exactly what they did back then, during the war, but things are different now." She grinned and turned to stare at him, their eyes meeting in the darkness. "Yuzu, my twin sister, has been trying to set my dad and Harribel up since they met. And I heard from Rukia that Orihime accidentally told her that Tatsuki, one of Ichigo's best friends, has a huge crush on Grimmjow. And with Orihime and Ulquiorra already together..."

"Wait, they're... in a relationship?" Karin nodded and shrugged.

"That's what I heard from Ichigo. He was kind of uncomfortable with the thought, but he said it was better than Grimmjow so I guess that means he doesn't mind too much. 'Course I also heard that they broke up at the same time everyone found out, but I guess they must be back together again because-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," the captain sighed. "You didn't strike me as a gossip." She frowned, apparently taking offense to this comment.

"I'm not," she stated simply and turned away from him. "I'm just trying to get you to understand them. They're not bad. I don't know what they were before, but I can tell now." She seemed so certain... could he really base any kind of opinion he had on something she said? Granted, as humans the Espada were pretty harmless and they hadn't caused any trouble, but...

Still... he knew he'd said he'd wait to tell Soul Society, and he would, but _only_ wait. They needed to know about this... didn't they? It was his duty as a captain to reveal this information... he had his job to think about, his pride, his honor... he reputation...

"I don't quite get where Soul Society thinks they're coming from anyway," she started again. "I mean, it was war right? Everyone's bad when it come to something like that. They were soldiers, doing their job. Does that really make them so different from you guys?" Toshiro glanced at the shingles on the roof. The same thoughts had already run through his head when they'd been hunting for any surviving Espada after the war... but they'd been a threat then...

The shinigami had nearly killed them today with just a little reiatsu.

"It's not the same..." he mumbled, not exactly sure where he was going with his argument. "We didn't choose to fight, they instigated it. Hollows fight to fight, shinigami... I like to think we have better reasons behind our actions." Of course not everyone did. he knew that people like Ikkaku fought for the pure joy of it.

Did that mean they were closer to hollows than he wanted to accept?

"I couldn't say," she shrugged again. "All I know is that whether they were hollows or not, they're not mindless killers, they have lives, feelings. They're just as human as me and you." He wanted to object to this claim of humanity, but she continued relentlessly. "And they can love, so that's enough proof for me that they're not all bad."

"Is it really love?" he just couldn't wrap his head around the concept of a hollow falling in love with a human. A shinigami falling for a human was more understandable. But hollows _ate_ humans for gods sake.

"You tell me," she pointed to two shadows standing in the dim light emanating from Urahara's shop. One had bright orange hair, the other wispy black locks. She was laughing, he was staring at her with a furrowed brow. They exchanged a few more words, an expression crossing Ulquiorra's face that Karin had never seen before. Some kind of tender expression, a calmness. She doubted even he knew it was there. She smiled. "That's what it looks like to me," she was whispering now and he turned to look at her.

"How can you even tell?" He didn't understand where she was pulling this from, but for whatever reason he found himself believing in her certainty.

"I dunno, I just can," she shrugged. "Hollow, human, shinigami, I guess I just see everyone as equal souls with different backgrounds. Sure some hollows need to be destroyed, a lot of them actually, but we shouldn't be so blind as to miss the exceptions either. There are plenty of humans, and probably shinigami too, that deserve to die, but that doesn't mean they're all condemned to death. The hollows have more working against them, but that's all the more reason to look for those who are out of the ordinary." They watched the couple a little longer, but it wasn't long before they started walking, vanishing from sight.

"A hollow and a human..." Toshiro put his finger to his chin thoughtfully. "In love? I just can't imagine it, how is that kind of love even possible?"

"Love is possible anywhere," she responded casually. "What is the definition of love after all?"

He couldn't give her an answer.

**ooooooooooooooooooooo**

Well that was a fun chapter. It got done rather quickly, which means I really liked writing it, so I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!

So the beginning was originally going to have major fluff, but then I got into Ulquiorra's "revelation" and decided it didn't quite fit. I had it typed, but deleted it because it seemed kind of random. It will be stuck in somewhere else. Hopefully you all understand where Ulquiorra is coming from, he was a little out of character, but he needs to develop somehow.

He's really growing to hate hollows isn't he...

Again, so much mystery behind Harribel. A little was revealed this chapter, at least some things you can infer about. Does she like Isshin? Or is it something else? Hmmm...

Soul Society, YAY! I know, very stereotypical group coming into play, but I don't want to bring in a whole lot more people, too many characters to keep track of. Kubo does a fine job of it, but I'm afraid I'd leave someone out. Chad and Ishida are being left in the dust as it is!

So I very much enjoyed the scene with Ikkaku beating up the poor defenseless Espada, and Toshiro and Karin's reunion, how... _sweet_... it was...

I loved imagining Ulquiorra and Grimmjow climbing through the window. Priceless. Silly boys.

Going back to Karin, I find her character very interesting. I feel like she'd be the type that just knows things, both her and Yuzu actually. They were born with that kind of wisdom that their father and brother lack. Probably something inherited from their mother. They're kind of like Harribel in that respect I guess. They just... are very intellectually versed.

I like them.

Anyway, hope you liked!

Love in tons!

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE!


	14. To Drown a Panther

**The Definition of Love**

_"Lights go out and I **can't** be **saved **_  
_**Tides** that I tried to **swim against **_  
_Brought me down **upon my knees **_  
_Oh I **beg**, I **beg** and **plead **_

_Singin', come out if **things aren't said **_  
_Shoot an apple off my head _  
_And a, **trouble** that can't be **named **_  
_**Tigers** waitin' to be **tamed**"_

_**Clocks - Coldplay**  
_

**Chapter 14: To Drown a Panther  
**

"This is fuckin' weird," Ikkaku muttered and crossed his arms over his chest. Yumichika nodded beside him, but didn't comment. It was obvious his opinion was shared by more than just his lieutenant as well. Multiple others in their group appeared rather uncomfortable, some even angry.

"You're telling me," Grimmjow mumbled, his arms already crossed over his chest as he stared back at the shinigami. Ulquiorra stood next to him, his face as empty as usual, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets.

"Now let's all just get along," Orihime stood between the two Espada's and the rest of her friends, aside from Tatsuki who stood on the Espada's side. Her black haired friend didn't like this plan of Orihime's, but knowing she would go through with it either way, she'd decided the least she could do was support the minority.

"Why?" Uryu hissed, his eyes set fiercely on Ulquiorra. No one had missed how hostile he was suddenly acting towards the fourth. He'd seemed to be on the gate before, not sure what to think of the two ex-hollows, and had even been making an attempt to get along, but since last Friday...

"Because idiot," Tatsuki bristled, "if you hadn't noticed, Orihime and Ulquiorra are dating," the group flinched, "so the least you could do is try to get along, seeing as you're supposed to be her friend!" Okay, so Tatsuki was irritated that they were being so hostile with Grimmjow as well, she couldn't help it.

"Last I knew they had broken up," the Quincy rebuked and glared harder at the fourth, who had stiffened at this accusation, his green eyes flashing.

"I do not believe our personal life it any of your business," he hissed dangerously, his hands forming into fists inside his pockets. He didn't need to be reminded of that, he had already suffered the consequences of acting so irrationally. Now he understood why the Woman had wanted to keep this hidden from her friends.

"It is when she's being fool enough to date a _hollow_," the for-eyed man took a step forward, pushing his glasses father up onto his nose. "I don't care if you guys are technically humans now, you'll always be hollows on the inside!"

"Ishida!" Orihime gasped as Ulquiorra took in a deep breath to calm himself.

"Enough Uryu," Chad placed a restraining hand on the Quincy's shoulder, his broad body a threat all in itself. "You're saying things you know nothing about." The enraged teenager seemed about to object, but was silenced by Ichigo's long, tired sigh.

"I have to say," the orange haired shinigami started, "I'm not sure how I feel about this either, I mean, it's one thing for you guys to go to our school, but another to actually... be in a relationship with... well with Inoue of all people." He turned to his orange haired female friend. "Don't you hate them?"

"Of course not," she pouted. "I never hated them. Grimmjow used to scare me a bit," the sixth grinned slightly, "but I was never afraid of Ulquiorra. He was the only person I ever got to talk to in Hueco Mundo. Sure he was mean, but he never hurt me even though he was probably allowed to. Even when I slapped him..."

"You slapped him?" Rukia cocked her head to the side, a small smile on her face. She was the only one aside from Rangiku that seemed completely at ease with the situation. Must be a female thing. "What for?"

"Well, because-"

"This is beside the point," Ichigo interjected, his brows furrowing together in irritation. "I get it Inoue, but do you have to _date_ the guy? Couldn't you just... be friends or something?" She furrowed her brows in reply, her pout deepening.

"Again, I fail to see how this should be any of your concern," Ulquiorra cut in again. "If it is her safety that you fear for, then you shouldn't. Even with her meager powers she is light years stronger than I. Not only that, but I would never lay an unwanted hand on her. I did not in Hueco Mundo and I will not now." His Woman smiled at him gratefully.

Ichigo slouched, seeming thoughtful.

"I don't buy it," Uryu pulled his arm out of Chad's grip, his skinny form a rather large contrast next to the big man. Ulquiorra glanced over at him and sighed. This Quincy really was a nuisance. He'd had to shoot him down once before atop Las Noches, now he was going to have to do it again.

"You should not let your jealousy of my position sway your actions," the fourth stated calmly and the addressed eyes widened in shock. "It is very Juvenile."

"Why you-" Chad grabbed the back of the Quincy's shirt, holding him back as he tried to pummel the ex-hollow. Ulquiorra found a strange kind of smugness rise in him at seeing how red the Quincy's cheeks had become. His Woman however did not seem to understand what was going on. It was probably better that way.

"Alright, that's enough," Tatsuki walked forward so that, like Orihime, she was centered between the two groups. "Let's all just relax and-"

"You're only acting like this because you've got the hots for Grimmjow!" The now very embarrassed Quincy stated before he could stop himself. Granted, it took the attention off if him, but it had been a pretty shitty thing to say.

Tatsuki's eyes widened, her face paling as her head whipped around to stare at Orihime. The redhead in turn had placed her hand over her mouth and was staring at Rukia, who was glaring up Ichigo with her arms crossed, a vein in her forehead throbbing. The orange haired shinigami had tensed, his eyes widening as he sucked in a quick breath.

"I told you not to tell anyone!" Rukia yelled and punched him, hard, on the arm. He flinched away from her, his face contorting in pain as he held his injured limb. Rukia's eyes burned into him, her dark orbs only darkening as she stared at his pathetic face.

"I didn't mean to," he took a few more steps away from her, "it just slipped out!" Rukia was stomping after him, her fists clenched at her sides. "C'mon Rukia, calm down," he begged, "is this any way to treat your new boyfriend?"

She growled, "You have got to learn to keep your mouth shut Ichigo!" She kicked him in the stomach, sending him to the ground in a heap. No one seemed to take this news too seriously though, as if it hadn't been obvious that two would end up together eventually. Though they did have a funny way of showing their affection.

"Ha," Grimmjow walked up behind Tatsuki, "you've got the hots for me Karate Girl?" Eyes flashing, Tatsuki didn't waste any time in raising her fist and pounding the ex-hollow up under his nose, sending the blue haired man flying back onto his butt, blood spurting from his nose.

"This is all very beside the point!" Orihime flinched at her best friends yelling voice echoed through the clearing outside Urahara's shop.

"I do not understand," Ulquiorra appeared a little annoyed. "How is it acceptable that a shinigami date a human yet blasphemous that _I_ date a human, she is obviously much more dangerous to Kurosaki's well being than I am to this Woman's." They all watched as Rukia continued to abuse her significant other as he rolled around, defenseless, on the ground.

"What the hell!" Grimmjow was yelling from his spot on the ground, blood pouring from his nostrils despite how he tried to stop its flow with the back of his hand. "Why did you do that you fucking bitch?" Tatsuki turned on him, her eyes fiery.

"What did you just call me?" He returned her glare with just as much fire, his stature just as intimidating as usual despite his position on the ground and the red liquid that was staining his dark blue t-shirt. "Do you _want_ me to kick your ass again?"

"Yeah Rukia!" Renji yelled and raised his hands with a cheer. "Kick him again! _Oh_, that had to hurt." Ikkaku was cheering for the small shinigami as well, her reprimanding voice blending well with Ichigo's pleading as she continued to scold him.

Toshiro could feel the vein in his forehead throbbing dangerously. Why did he always get stuck with these idiots? And now there were more idiots to add to the mix as well, stupid hollow. It was seriously getting on his nerves.

"Alright!" the white haired captains voice rang out above the crowd, everyone's gaze snapping to his small form. "That's enough, you're all acting like children." Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the small captain, his nose still bleeding profusely.

"Why's the elementary student telling us what to do?" Toshiro growled, closing his eyes in an attempt to control his temper against the blue haired fool. "Like hell I'll take orders from a little kid." Yumichika and Rangiku exchanged a knowing glance, wrong thing to say.

"I am not a little kid!" the captain exclaimed, his forehead throbbing dangerously. Grimmjow scoffed, and then started hacking. He'd apparently swallowed too much blood and was now choking on it. Rushing over, Orihime patted him on the back in an attempt to help, but it was obvious her endeavors were failing. Taking the initiative, Ulquiorra moved her aside gently and punched his older brother in the center of the back, sending the sixth tumbling forward onto the ground, his choking problem solved as his face collided with the asphalt.

"I think you made things worse Ulquiorra," his Woman muttered shyly as they watched a pool of blood form beneath the now unconscious sixth Espada. He shrugged, apparently not too worried about Grimmjow's obvious blood loss.

"What is going on out here?" Urahara slipped outside, his hair in disarray as he yawned. "What is all the noise about, I was trying to sleep." He rubbed his eyes as he glanced around the clearing. He sighed. "Inoue, please heal Grimmjow before he permanently stains my property." Jumping to action, the orange haired woman summoned her powers, an orange shield surrounding the blue haired man. "I don't know what you're all doing here, but please take your bickering elsewhere, it's a Sunday morning."

"Hime is the one that called us here," Rangiku informed knowingly and all eyes once again fell on the innocent looking female. She blushed.

"It's the only place I was certain everyone could find," she muttered.

"You still haven't told us why you wanted us all here," Yumichika sighed.

"Well, I thought we could..." okay, so her plan hadn't been as fleshed out as she thought, she'd acted rather irrationally when she'd called everyone that morning to get them together. But she had decided it would be better to deal with her friends outside of school when it came to her relationship with Ulquiorra, and it also gave her a reason to try and get every to get alone.

It wasn't going well.

"I thought that maybe we could all hang out today, you know..." she fiddled with her fingers nervously, glancing at the ground. "So that maybe we could all try and get to know each other, and get along..." Ichigo looked about to object, but was interrupted by a feminine voice. Glancing over, he spotted the mother of the hollow house. He couldn't remember her name.

"I think that's a lovely idea," the blonde woman crossed her arms under her breasts, her gaze lingering on Ichigo before drifting to her own two wards. One was showing no emotion as usual, while the other was now awake, staring at her with a suspicious eye through the orange barrier.

What was she doing at Urahara's this early in the morning?

"And later tonight when you guys come back after having a nice, productive, _friendly_ day," her green eyes hovered over Ichigo pointedly and he glanced at the ground, ashamed. Why did he feel like it was his own mother reprimanding him? "Feel free to stop by the house. I'll make all kinds of snacks and if you bring swimsuits, I'll get Starrk to fill up the pool."

"Starrk's back?" Ulquiorra's question went unanswered due to Grimmjow trampling over him.

"I'm not letting these shinigami anywhere near our house!" he spat even though it was obvious he was on the losing end of the argument. Harribel was giving him the eye, a deep, terrifying frown creasing her lips.

"You have a pool?" Ulquiorra glanced over at his Woman, her question not fazing him. She was staring at him with hurt, hopeful eyes. "You never told me that!" He pursed his lips, she'd never asked.

"Isn't it a little cold to be swimming?" Toshiro inquired, his irritation apparently still intact.

"Oh don't worry about that," Harribel assured. "It's in the basement, completely heated. You honestly thought I, of all people, would have a house without a pool available all the time? Do you not remember our fight Captain Hitsugaya?" The little Captain sighed.

"You guys are loaded aren't you?" Keigo was in awe, his mouth dropping open slightly.

"Starrk is rather successful, yes," Harribel confirmed.

"Sounds _fun_!" Ichigo was grinning tauntingly down at Grimmjow, who was bristling angrily. "I'm all for that, thanks for inviting us _Grimmjow_." The sixth looked like he wanted to kill something.

"This will be irritating," the white haired captain sighed. "It's bad enough supervising you all normally, but with water involved..."

"What are you talking about Toshiro," Karin shook her head. "You're not going with them, you're staying here with us. They're going to be doing all kinds of boring grown up stuff." Toshiro gaped, obviously offended, and all the shinigami in the clearing laughed. "C'mon, Lilynette and I want to see you show your stuff." She grabbed him by the arm and started forcefully dragging him into Urahara's house.

His objections were ignored.

**oOo**

"I'll kill them all!" he threw his hands onto the table, his nails scraping through the steel. His counterpart sighed. "We should have destroyed them when we had the chance! That woman killed all the menos and would have kept coming if I hadn't closed the Garganta. You're lucky I was masking my reiatsu from her."

The scientist seemed curious. "So they've found another way to regain their powers..."

"She wasn't the same as before," the taller snarled and flopped down onto a nearby stool. "She was wearing a completely black kimono, and she didn't have a mask or anything." His lip curled, his disgust growing all the more prominent. "She looked like a _shinigami_."

"I see," the calmer of the two began to pace the room. "This is probably Urahara's doing. I don't think he can figure out exactly what we're doing, but he must have a vague notion that we pose a threat. He must be creating his own army to stand against us."

"What threat are a couple more shinigami?" the other spat and his companion turned, glaring at his ignorance.

"Fool," he hissed. "They're not just regular shinigami. They're shinigami that were once hollows and are still humans..."

"Why does that make a difference?"

"It doesn't matter right now," the other was gripping his chin thoughtfully. "There hasn't been enough time for them to develop completely, we should dispose of the ones that are still human before they can realize what they're capable of." The other grinned.

"That's what I like to hear. Who's going to take care of the problem?"

"I would prefer we remain as undercover as possible," his mind was running a million miles a minute. "Send some incomplete arrancar to deal with the humans as soon as possible. If that goes well, we'll deal with the ones that have gone through the transformation afterwards."

"Things are starting to got interesting," the other smiled an exaggerated, teethe grin.

"Which is unfortunate," the other stated. "We still need more time."

**oOo**

"Get off my couch," Grimmjow was glowering down at the orange haired shinigami, his irritation very obvious. Ichigo just smiled up at him, two homemade chocolate chip cookies held in his hands. Slowly, he took a bite of one, closing his eyes to savor the taste in a rather exaggerated manner.

"It's so comfortable," he stretched and made himself more at home on the sofa. "And these cookies sure are good, I might just have to come over more often." Grimmjow's nostrils flared at his rivals taunting. Ichigo, on the other hand, was enjoying himself immensely. It was about time he got on the blue haired mans nerves for a change.

The others had made themselves comfortable in the hollow home as well. Renji and Ikkaku were playing video games on the huge wide screen television while everyone else was sitting around the center coffee table, either on one of the couches or on the floor. A large array of food stuffs littered the table, all at Harribel's expense.

This left no seats for the sixth of course, so he was trying to bully Ichigo's out of his own.

Narrowing his blue eyes, the ex-hollow glanced around the room, looking for something. Apparently spotting it, he snapped his fingers and pointed at Ichigo. The shinigami furrowed his eyebrows and glanced in the same direction as his rival.

Eyes widening, he didn't even have time to register the attack before it happened. All he saw was a pair of fuzzy cat ears.

Screeching, the small furry animal launched itself from the floor. Overly sharp claws outstretched, mouth agape with rows of sharp teeth, eyes wide with murder, it wasted no time in attaching itself to Ichigo's head. Yelling in pain, the shinigami jumped to his feet, his hands attempting to find the animal that was now biting and clawing at his skull.

Sitting down, the sixth took the now vacated seat and watched with no emotion as Kurosaki pranced around the room, the kittens claws imbedded so deeply into his head that he had a difficult time of getting it to let go.

Every other being in the room watched with mouths agape (except for Ikkaku and Renji who were still fully indulged in their gaming, and Ulquiorra who didn't really care). None knew quite what to say, the attack had come out of nowhere, and it was proving a very successful strategy.

"Fucking bitch!" Ichigo howled and finally managed to grab the kitten by its back. Ripping it out of his hair, he tossed the animal as far away from him as he could, its claws bloodied and pink with Ichigo's flesh as it soured through the air. All eyes watched it as it flew overhead, silence overcoming the room.

Eyes alert with an unnatural glow, the freakish beast landed skillfully on Renji's head. Screaming like a little girl, the shinigami jumped in surprise and fell off the couch, his hands going to his head to try and find what had attacked him. Eyes wide and breathing hard, he found nothing.

No, the animal had already jumped away from the redhead.

With practiced skill, the kitten vaulted from Renji to the table, it's feet light. It had glanced at Grimmjow only momentarily, as if looking for another signal, and the blue haired man snapped his fingers again. With a new kind of ferociousness, it bounded back up into the air, flipping backwards, before landing squarely on Ishida's shoulder. Jumping back with wide eyes, the Quincy stood, trying to escape the monster.

But he didn't have a whole lot to worry about; he wasn't the target, just a starting point. No, the creature was eyeing the person sitting across from Ishida, the only other person in the room that could piss the sixth off.

Green eyes widening only slightly, the fourth watched with surprise as the horrible animal screeched towards him, it's already dirtied claws stretching towards him, its mouth held open dangerously. Raising his hands in a defensive gesture, he tried to fend the beast off, shielding his face.

Unfortunately for Ulquiorra, the cat wasn't interested in his face.

Rushing forward, the fourth watched with horror as the animal collided with his lap, its claws sinking into his pants, its head acting like a spearhead against his groin. Gasping, he saw all kinds of colors flash before him as his eyes rolled back. Reaching down, he had practically forgotten about the animal attached to him as he tried to ease the terrible pain now throbbing through his entire body.

All the men in the room gasped painfully.

The kitten didn't stay long though, and as Ulquiorra reached down to cup his manhood, it bounded upwards, running across the back of the couches. Every person in the room shied away from it, opening an easy path for the little monster. Reaching Grimmjow, it vaulted into his blue nest of hair, burying itself deeply as it eyed them narrowly, suspiciously, above blue locks.

"That's what you get for staying out all night when I can't," the sixth sniffed and looked away from his brother as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ulquiorra!" Orihime tensed, her hands cupping her face as she watched her boyfriend go down from her spot next to him on the couch, the only weakness that was universal for all males plaguing him. Taking in a strangled breath, the fourth bent down, his eyes squeezed shut in agony as he gripped his pained body parts.

Falling off the couch, he smacked his forehead on the coffee table with a loud crack. Everyone in the room gasped and flinched. With a groan, he fell sideways, his pride along with his body falling to the floor as he curled up into the fetal position, his eyes squeezed shut as tears threatened to leak across his cheeks.

Damn that wretched creature! He should have killed it when he had the chance! And damn the fact that he had decided to change into a pair of thin slacks as opposed to staying in his jeans! Such sharp claws and teeth...

_So painful_...

"What the hell _is_ that?" Ichigo was pointing at the creature curled up on Grimmjow's head, blood running down the shinigami's forehead as the kitten hissed at him. "Demon creature! What did you do to it?" Grimmjow glared at Ichigo, how dare he call Colonel Fluffy Bottoms a demon. Stupid shinigami.

Suddenly and without warning, Rangiku started laughing hysterically. She was quickly followed by Rukia. Ichigo was fuming.

"Don't sit in my seat Kurosaki," Grimmjow stated simply, his face still as serious as a heart attack. Growling, Ichigo was about to lunge as his blue haired rival. But the sixth snapped his fingers again and the animal bounded back into the air. Squeaking like a little girl, the orange haired shinigami managed to avoid the attack and the kitten landed harmlessly on the carpet. Glaring at him, the small menace made a beeline for the strawberry, and he ran into the kitchen trying to escape it.

"Is he alright?" Renji furrowed his eyebrows in concern, his eyes wide, as he watched Ulquiorra wreathing on the ground, his whole body shuddering in pain. Orihime was clenching her teeth in worry and she bent down next to him, not quite sure what to do.

"That was cruel," Ikkaku shook his head in disapproval, a shiver running up the mans body. Yumichika looked like he was going to be sick. Placing her hand on his back, Orihime tried to comfort her significant other, but he could hardly even register that she was there. This was a pain unlike any other he'd ever felt in his life.

"How did you teach it to do that?" Tatsuki had turned to her crush, her eyes wide with curiosity and wonder. Unfortunately, she wouldn't get the answer to her question as Harribel had entered the room, a very sulky Ichigo coming up behind her. In her hands she held the monster by the scruff of its neck. It was spitting and flailing, it's eyes still on Ichigo. The shinigami was pale.

Glancing around the room, the blonde woman sighed when she saw Ulquiorra curled up on the floor, tears leaking from his scrunched eyes.

"Grimmjow," her voice was very disapproving. The blue haired man didn't look at her and her face tightened in anger. "Call this thing off _now_." Sighing, the sixth slowly snapped his fingers again. Dropping its aggressive stance, the animal fell flat, hanging dejectedly in Harribel's hands. Setting the animal down on the carpet, it scurried under the coffee table to hide, all eyes on the room watching it cautiously.

"Is he going to be okay?" Keigo glanced at the blonde head of the household, his eyes wide with horror as he pointed at Ulquiorra.

Harribel huffed. "He'll be fine," she rolled her eyes and headed back into the kitchen, mumbling something about men always having been the weaker gender.

Silence (well except for Ulquiorra's labored breathing).

"Well that was fun," Rangiku decided as she shoved the last part of a cookie into her mouth. "So when are we going to go swimming, it's a little crowded in here. And I bought a new swimsuit today." She was pouting, looking hopefully at Grimmjow. The sixth scrunched up his face, a pinkness rising to his cheeks at the sight of the begging older woman. Apparently her whiles worked on Espada too.

Tatsuki growled.

"We can go now... I guess..." the sixth decided hesitantly and stood from the seat he had worked so hard to win. Walking across the living room, he opened a door next to the stairs and vanished inside. Shrugging, the rest of the group followed, each of them, except for Ishida, giving Ulquiorra a pitying eye as they passed.

Poor guy.

Orihime didn't rise from her place on the floor as the room was quickly dispersed. She'd stay with him through this terrible ordeal.

**oOo**

"Are you sure you're okay?" she followed him up the stairs, her lovely face pulled into a frown. Ulquiorra decided that, though she still looked stunning, the expression was very unbecoming of her. "Because if your not I can heal-"

"Really Woman," he snapped, "I'm fine." It was embarrassing enough that every single person in that room had witnessed him rolling around on the floor in a very pathetic manner, he didn't need her healing... that area either.

"You're going to come swimming though right?" she continued to pester as he pushed the door to his bedroom open. She followed him without a second thought. Not that he minded, she was welcome in his room any time she wanted to be there.

"Why do you care whether I go swimming or not?" he asked testily as he sank gingerly down onto his bed, closing his eyes as the pain in his groin continued to subside. He was going to have to get back at Grimmjow... somehow...

"Well because... because the whole idea of this day is to get everyone to get along, and if you're not there then..." He stared at her blankly, not believing a word of it. The group had been together all day; bonding had gone just about as far as it could at that point in time. "And I think you should... should..."

"What?" she was lying to him. Why?

"Well, I just..." She sighed, apparently giving up on trying to convince him, but having no intentions of explaining to him what her problem was either. He sighed.

"Alright, I will come down to the pool," he gave in. Turning, she beamed at him, her smile as dazzling as ever. Standing, he made his way over to her, his intentions obvious.

She frowned again.

"What?" he pursed his lips.

"Well... aren't you going to change into swim trunks or something?" Furrowing his brows down at her, he growled, no longer able to contain his annoyance.

"Just because I am going down to the pool does not mean I am going to actually indulge in the activity associated with pools." She pouted and he tried not to snap at her about how unreasonable she was being. Maybe he just didn't like swimming, was that a crime? "What do you want from me Woman?"

She huffed and turned around so she was no longer facing him, her orange locks snapping against his chest. She wasn't fast enough however to hide the blush that had risen to her cheeks.

"You are embarrassed?" she tensed and he placed his hands on her shoulders, slowly turning her to face him once again. Yes, her face was very flushed as she tried to avoid his gaze, her eyes focused on the carpet. "Why are you embarrassed?"

"Because I..." she was pulling on the fabric of his long sleeved t-shirt with nervousness, her actions only igniting his curiosity more. Waiting like a stone, he knew it was only a matter of time. "I want to..." from there she had started mumbling and he had been unable to hear her. Frowning more deeply, he furrowed his brows at her.

"I could not hear you Wo-"

"Because I wanted to see you without your shirt on, _okay_?" The explanation came out rushed and it took him a moment to understand what exactly she was implying. She'd seen him without a shirt on before, she'd seen him _naked_ before... it didn't make any sense. Well if that was all she wanted.

"Then just say so," he deadpanned. Taking hold of his shirt, he quickly slipped it off and dropped it to the floor, relishing in the way her eyes bugged at his sudden motion, her cheeks darkening another shade.

"Ulquiorra!" she whispered as she pranced away from him, closing the door to his bedroom. "Put that back on! What of someone walks in?" Her voice was still lowered as she glanced him up and down, unable to keep her eyes off his chiseled chest. Yes, it was different to see him without a shirt normally versus when she was healing him. It was a very big difference indeed.

"Your logic makes no sense," he stated, annoyed. "If I were to go down to the pool with the intention of swimming then I would also be shirtless. Why does it make a difference what area of the house I am in? If anything I have many more reasons to be shirtless in my own domain than anywhere else." She sighed.

"Because Ulquiorra," she was really worried about this. "If someone walks in they could get the wrong idea. I mean, you're shirtless, we're in your room... _alone_..."

"Seeing as I have been with you alone on many occasions, I can only assume that the fact that I have no shirt on would be what is spurring your discomfort in which case I must ask, what exactly is the 'wrong idea' to which you refer?"

"_Ulquiorra_," she whined and face-palmed. "Why are you so dense sometimes?" Pursing his lips, the fourth was obviously offended. It wasn't his fault he didn't know all the social norms when in a relationship, he'd never been in one before. That didn't mean she had to insult him. Seeing his face, she sighed. "I'm sorry I called you dense," she apologized sheepishly. "When I say I don't want people to get the wrong idea I mean I don't want them to think we're... you know... doing stuff..." He narrowed his eyes at her. "You know, serious relationship stuff..." his face remained blank. She wanted to rip her hair out. "Like making out and stuff that comes after that?"

Realization dawned on him, but was quickly followed by confusion.

"I was under the impression that we no longer had to keep our affections for each other a secret," he stated.

"Well, yeah, that's true," she was still uncomfortable. "But there's still stuff you don't talk about with other people, or let them see. When we... do anything more than kiss it's supposed to be... _private_." He tried to comprehend her explanation.

"So, despite it being common knowledge that these things happen in relationships, you do not want people to walk in and get the 'wrong idea' by thinking we were intimately involved with each other even though we are not currently?" She let out a relieved sigh and nodded.

"Exactly, so could you put your shirt back on please?"

"Tatsuki and Grimmjow have walked in on us being intimate and it never caused any serious harm," other than his brother not being able to keep his big mouth shut.

"Well Tatsuki and Grimmjow aren't... you know, Ichigo or Uryu..."

"So it also depends on who the person is that would happen to get the wrong idea? Based on all this, it would seem that Grimmjow and Tatsuki both had the correct ideas about what we were doing, so if you are worried about some of your other friends getting the wrong idea, should we not just arrange everything so they get the right idea?"

"Uh..." the Woman scratched the back of her head. "Yes?"

"Problem solved then," the green eyed man stated simply as he walked over to her. "You can continue to see me with my shirt off and your friends can get the right idea instead of the wrong one. Everyone wins." Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her closer to him and pressed his lips to hers, much to her surprise.

"Hold on," she glanced up at the ceiling as she went over his words again in her head. Not wanting to upset her, the fourth was bound and determined to make sure her friends would get the right idea if they walked in. Traveling down her jaw line, he laid soft kisses along her milky skin before traveling down her neck. "I don't think you understood what I meant Ulquiorra," she continued as she placed her hands on his bare shoulders, her face flushing a dangerous shade of crimson as he ran his hands down her body. Hefting her up into his arms, he kissed her more severely when she gasped as he walked over to the nearby couch. Laying her down gently, he placed his hands on either side of her head and continued to indulge in the taste of her throat. "But that's okay I guess," she breathed as she ran her hands through his silky hair.

"This hardly seems fair," he muttered as his nose brushed against her collar bone. "Why should you get to see me without my shirt while I am forced to appreciate nothing more than your cotton t-shirts?" Glancing up, he was not surprised to see her face had once again changed to a deeper shade of crimson.

"Um, because I'm a girl? And- Ulquiorra!" she laughed as his pale fingers drifted beneath her pink shirt, his feathery touch causing her entire body to jerk to the side. "Ohmygod, your hands are _freezing_!" She continued to giggle and he took that as invitation enough to continue.

Gripping her small waist tightly, he let her smooth flesh warm his palms, his thin hands sliding farther up her torso. It wasn't long though and he encountered another article of clothing that was very infuriating.

He furrowed his brows down at her.

"What?" she asked innocently and released another giggle. Instead of answering, he grabbed the bottom of her annoying little shirt and pulled it upwards, much to her surprise. Without a second thought he shoved the whole article over her head and tossed it to the side.

Straightening, he crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at her from his position over her waist, a disapproving glint in his green eyes.

"_What_?" she asked again, her voice a little more tense as she tried to cover herself with her hands. If she'd known he was going to look at her like _that_ when he finally saw her shirtless she never would have let him take the thing off!

"Again, the situation is- do not do that, I am looking at you," pulling her arms away from her body and placing them gingerly above her head, he halted her attempts to cover herself. If he'd wanted to see her covered he would have kept her shirt on. "I was saying that the situation is still unfair."

"What do you mean?" she asked quickly. "I think it's completely fair. I'm seeing what you would look like with a swimsuit on and now you get to see what I would look like with a swimsuit on. See? Everything is fair!" He pursed his lips, that didn't make any sense.

"Tell me if I am wrong, but you own a rather tradition swimsuit, yes? If that is the way we are dealing with this, then I should be able to remove these as-"

"No!" she exclaimed and laughed. "Leave my pants _on_ please." Pulling his hands away from the button on her jeans, she smiled up at him, her sparkling grin only slightly nervous beneath him. "Let's just... focus on one part of the body, okay?"

"Fine," he stated and tried to remove one of the bra straps from her shoulder.

"_Ulquiorra_!" she whined and scooted away from him, her back up against the arm rest of the couch. "What are you doing?" Frown deepening, he couldn't hold back the irritated glint in his eyes.

"You said focus on one part, that is what I am doing."

"Well, yeah, but," again she wrapped her arms around her middle, her silver gaze drifting to the ceiling. He sighed, what was she so worried about? And why did she keep trying to hide herself from his view?

"Stop doing that," he commanded again, his hands gentle as he removed her own once again from her body.

"I can't help it," she pouted. "I'm... afraid of what you're thinking, okay?" What a silly thing to say.

"Well right now I am thinking about how annoying it is that you keep hiding from me," she grinned slightly at this yet he didn't know why. His honesty always pulled strange reactions out of her. "I am also thinking about how annoying it is that this useless garment is still covering all of your breasts," she blushed, "but these things should have been obvious to you."

"That was all you were thinking about? Really?" she asked hesitantly, her face sheepish. "You weren't thinking that it's weird that I only have one freckle right above my bellybutton," so what? "or that my stomach pooches out a little when I'm sitting," her stomach did not "pooch," "or that my skin is way paler on my stomach than the rest of my body," that was only logical, her stomach didn't see the sun, "or that my breasts look way to big and disproportional, or that-"

"Woman," he snapped. "The freckle is hardly noticeable, there is no 'pooch' in your stomach that I can see, of course your stomach is paler, what silly thing to ask, that's not weird, and your breasts are perfectly fine, better than fine really."

"You mean it?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, though the last one would be able to be reinforced more severely if you would allow me to remove that silly thing you keep them contained in." She blushed again and he huffed. What was the big deal. "You are embarrassed again," he stated matter-o-factly. "I assure you Woman that your breasts are perfect in every way possible."

"They're not too big?" she asked hesitantly.

"What a silly question," he replied and didn't offer an explanation after that. Leaning down once again, he pressed his lips to hers, his hands traveling up her sides. She leaned into him, her back arching against his chest. Again, her bra was irritating him. He wanted to be rid of the damn thing.

Quickly, so as to stop her silly insecurities from rising again, his hands travelled around her back, his nimble fingers having no problems whatsoever unsnapping the tedious clothing piece. She took in a quick breath when the pressure the article placed around her breasts was released, but didn't object when he tossed it carelessly to the floor.

Sitting up once again, he looked her up and down, fire shooting to the base of his stomach as he did. She was still blushing, but she stared right back up at him when his green eyes finally met hers once again.

"You are perfect," he assured in a low voice and she laughed quietly as he kissed her once again, his hands cupping the curves of her breasts gently. She took in a gasping breath, her back arching once again. This time there was no annoying cotton in the way, and he reveled in the feeling of her skin against his, the friction it created.

"Ulquiorra?" her voice was questioning and he paused in his exploration of her body. Glancing down at her, he waited with a little less patience than earlier, his thumbs lightly caressing her soft skin. "Are you happy?"

He furrowed his brows down at her.

"Happy?" he repeated. "I... fail to understand the concept of the question."

"I just," she sighed, her gaze falling to the side. "You look so sad sometimes and I've never seen you smile. And I'm not asking if you're happy with me or us or anything, just in general. Are you happy here... in the world of the living?"

He was thoughtful. He'd honestly never really considered the concept. Happiness? Had he reached that? How did one tell if they were happy? He knew he loved being with this Woman, that much was obvious, and she was one of the main parts of his life currently. Aside from her, did he enjoy his life? He didn't loath it so...

"Yes..." he was slow to respond at first. "Yes, I believe I am happy. I did not mean to worry you, I just... have never been one to smile..." She gave him a reassuring grin in return. "I could try I suppose... if it worries you that much."

"No," she added quickly. "It's okay, I just wanted to make sure is all. Don't force it or anything," she laughed and placed her hand on his face. "You're fine just the way you are."

"So are you," he stated simply before once again commencing in exploring her body. It wasn't long however and he was interrupted again.

"Hey, uh, Ulquiorra?"

"What?" he growled with a sigh, not bothering to look up at her. Instead he settled for laying his forehead on her collar bone, waiting for her to continue.

"We really should go back downstairs..." She was trying to kill him.

"I am not happy now Woman," he grumbled irritably.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered.

**oOo**

"You just going to stand there and stare at us?" Ichigo asked when he rose from the depths of the water, his hair washed clean of blood. Grimmjow tightened his lips as he stared down at the group, his face uncomfortable.

"I don't like water," he spat irritably. Ichigo glanced at Rukia who giggled.

"Course you don't Pantera," the orange haired shinigami mocked as he sank under the water again. If the blue haired man had had the guts to get in the pool, he would have strangled the shinigami.

Everyone else was enjoying themselves it seemed. Their basement was brightly lit, warming lights casting a kind of sunlight across the large, rectangular pool. It went from being about four feet deep to thirteen, nothing huge. Light blue tile spotted the area around the pool, shining with wetness.

Floating across the pool, Rangiku, Yumichika, and Renji had made themselves comfortable on inflated beds, their eyes closed. Ikkaku was prowling around beneath them, probably trying to find the best way to flip them. Tatsuki, Ichigo, Rukia, and the remainder of their friends inhabited the deeper end, not really doing anything. The only exceptions were Uryu, who was sitting in a chair outside the pool looking angry, thus no one was talking to him, and Grimmjow.

Ulquiorra and Orihime had failed to show up yet.

"It's not that bad Grimmjow," Tatsuki urged the stiff Espada. He refused to answer, his swim trunks remaining dry, his t-shirt still firmly in place. She sighed, she didn't have the patience to urge him much more than that. He could stand up there and sulk all he wanted.

"What a baby," Rukia muttered as she sank under the water following Ichigo. Grimmjow looked about to rebuke, but for whatever reason couldn't. Instead he glared at the tiled floor, his eyes hard and masked. Tatsuki furrowed her eyebrows, what was his deal?

It wouldn't be long until she found out.

"Hey," Turning, the blue haired man came face to face with his younger brother, the audience behind him watching the exchange expectantly. It was obvious just by the intensity of the green in the fourths eyes that he was livid. His face didn't need to show any emotion for the rest of the group to feel it coming off him in waves.

Grimmjow smirked.

"You should not be laughing," Ulquiorra threatened. The blue haired teenager raised a skeptical brow, apparently feeling that his brother posed little threat. Still, had he been a little more perceptive...

Punching him across the cheek, Ulquiorra watched with hard eyes as Grimmjow stumbled backwards, his eyes wide as his feet breached the edge of the pool. Flailing, he gasped as the ground fell out from underneath him, Ulquiorra watching him with a kind of cold smugness as he toppled backwards.

Just like the day he'd been pulled into the disgusting pond by the very same man, Grimmjow watched with suffocating horror as the water enveloped him, crushing in on him with a swift kind of vengeance. He tried to take in a last breath, but all he got was water, strangling him and cutting off his air supply.

He tried to cough, but only managed to pull in more water as he sank towards the bottom of the deeper end of the pool. The pond hadn't been this deep, he'd been able to stand and keep his head above water then. It wasn't the same.

His heart was pounding in his skull, the water striking his eyes and turning the world around him into painful shades of blue and green. Fire ran through his veins, tightening all around him as dangerous bursts of color exploded in his head. His lungs screamed as they filled with water, his struggles amounting to nothing as his arms began to lose energy, almost as though it were being sucked out of him. Terror rang through him, swaying inside him as he tried to find air yet coming up with nothing.

There was a reason no water existed in Hueco Mundo.

Most of the group laughed as the sixth went plummeting into the water, swimming as far away from the splash as possible, apparently finding Ulquiorra's revenge fitting. Tatsuki was among the laughing, and as she watched Grimmjow sink, she laughed some more.

Seconds past and he didn't resurface.

Everyone else was still laughing too hard to notice, joking around and splashing each other with water as they mocked his topple in friendly jest. But the dark haired female watched with growing fear as the blue haired man's struggles started to fade. He was too far away from her, she couldn't reach him. She could barely see him as he faded into the sparkling greenish-blue depths of the pool.

She glanced up at Ulquiorra, his green eyes meeting hers, the same thoughts flashing through their heads as the realization hit them.

Grimmjow couldn't swim.

Eyes widening, Ulquiorra realized his mistake like a punch to the gut. Gulping, he dove into the water, still clad in his button-up shirt and slacks. The others in the water gasped as they were splashed once again, this time without any warning.

Stretching downwards, the fourth caught the collar of his brother's shirt in his pale hands, his heart freezing when he saw the way Grimmjow's form had stilled, water bubbling out of his mouth, blue eyes closed. Sudden fear jolting him onwards, the fourth pushed himself back up through the water, his progress significantly slowed by his victim's weight.

But he had to get him back to the top.

Punching through the water, Ulquiorra gasped when he reached the surface. Wasting no time, he tried to pull the heavier man up as well, but was failing. Instead, he sank back down below the surface as he tried to propel his brother up, sputtering as water filled his mouth.

"Shit!" Ichigo swore and dove forward into the water as he watched Ulquiorra struggle with Grimmjow's lax body. Grabbing the blue haired man by his shirt collar as well, the shinigami dragged him to the edge of the pool and, with the fourths help, shoved him up over the edge. Tatsuki waited there and pulled him the rest of the way up, dropping him face up on the slippery floor.

Ulquiorra and Ichigo were the next ones out of the pool and they rushed to Grimmjow's side.

"He's not breathing," the fourth muttered while taking deep breaths of his own. Ichigo swore again, his orange hair covering his eyes. The rest of the party was leaving the pool as well, their faces confused and worried.

"Dammit Grimmjow, this is fucking pathetic!" the orange haired teenager roared and slapped the larger man hard on the chest, his fist denting the pale skin.

And just like that, water erupted from the sixths mouth, his eyes snapping open. Hacking and coughing, the blue haired man turned over, water spilling out across the floor as he emptied his system of the fowl liquid.

Shaking, Ulquiorra's older brother took in a deep breath, his arms barely able to support him. Both his green eyed family member and Ichigo slapped him on the back, more water flowing out of his lungs as he closed his eyes painfully, fire ripping through his veins as his body received the necessary oxygen to live.

"Fuck," he whispered, taking in another deep, shuddering breath, his entire body shivering more fiercely. Ulquiorra bristled.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Everyone turned shocked eyes to Ulquiorra, his raised voice surprising them all into silence. "You never told anyone you couldn't swim! How fucking dense can you be?" Grimmjow glared at his younger brother.

"You're the one that pushed me asshole," his hissed, his voice raspy and sore as it grated against his throat. He coughed again, more water splattering against the floor. Ulquiorra's lips tightened, something more unexpected than his yelling flashing through his eyes. Multiple people in the group gaped.

Guilt.

_Ulquiorra_ was guilty over almost drowning _Grimmjow_.

"Yeah, well if you'd stop acting like an idiot and get over your pride, I would have known better!" Despite his shame at almost killing his brother, Ulquiorra was still livid. That was something everyone in their family should know! Common fucking knowledge! How were they supposed to know to save him if he wouldn't even let them know he needed to be saved?

Fool.

Grimmjow gulped, closing his eyes as he tried to steady his breathing. After a few moments he opened them again, their gaze drifting to Ulquiorra.

"Sorry," he whispered, the apology barely audible yet loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Damn straight you're sorry," Ulquiorra hissed, his anger slowly dissipating upon seeing the ashamed blush cross the blue haired teenagers face. "You almost died you fool," the last was barely whispered and Grimmjow flinched. "When are you going to learn you're not invincible?" There was no reply and Ichigo felt suddenly very awkward upon realizing his hand was still on his rivals back. Quickly removing it, he made a point of glaring the blue haired idiot.

"He's right," the redheaded shinigami instigated and Grimmjow turned to glare back at him.

"No one asked for your opinion Kurosaki," he rasped, his eyes bloodshot, his face pasty. He knew he looked pathetic, and by the way Ichigo's eyes had softened, his brows coming together, he realized that he must look a hell of a lot worse then he thought. "Don't look at me like that!" his command came out as threateningly as he could muster. "Don't look down on me like that!" Brown eyes hardening, Ichigo frowned. Yup, Grimmjow was still Grimmjow.

"I'll look at you however I want to," the shinigami persisted angrily. "At least I can swim!" The blue haired man growled and the two commenced in their typical bickering and hair pulling, Ichigo unconsciously going much easier on the Espada in his weakened state.

Multiple sighs of relief echoed around the room.

Ulquiorra stood, collecting himself until he was once again a stone. Running his hand through his hair, he was very glad his Woman was still changing. She would have been hysterical.

"That was very heroic of you," glancing down, he came face to face with Tatsuki, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared knowingly up at him. He frowned. "You know," she appeared thoughtful, "I think I'm starting to understand what Orihime sees in you. You're really not that bad." Again, he didn't reply, he only blinked at her before walking away.

Not that bad? He'd almost killed Grimmjow. Where did she get such logic?

**oOo**

"Hey Grimmjow," Yuzu came bounding out of her house to greet him. He didn't smile at her arrival, but he didn't frown either. He was tired, it had been a long week at school, and he wanted to go home so he could sleep it off. "Where's Lilynette?"

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "She's at camp, something you're guys's school was doing... why aren't you there too?" He immediately grew suspicious when Yuzu appeared confused. That's what Harribel had told him... it was also where Nel was supposed to be. Something about being able to take one family member.

"I didn't hear anything about _that_," the blonde girl pouted. "I can't believe she didn't tell me..."

"Aren't you guys in the same class?" he investigated. "Harribel said your entire class was going...?" Why had his blonde mother hen lied to him? He knew something was up. Ever since Starrk had disappeared for a few days on a sudden "trip." No, scratch that, ever since _she_ had disappeared that one time. What the hell was going on?

"No, Lilynette and Karin are the only two missing..." She raised a single eyebrow at him inquiringly, but he could offer no answers. He needed to get home so he could talk to Harribel, if she was there. She'd been spending a lot of time at Urahara's... Was that where Lilynette and Nel were too? Too bad Starrk really _was_ on a trip now; he would have been easy to crack. And the sixth was pretty sure Ulquiorra didn't know anything either. He was probably completely oblivious to their family's suspicious disappearances anyway; he was too caught up in Orihime to care about anything else.

"I'm going home," he finally stated. "And I'm going to ask Harribel, she'll know." He didn't register Yuzu telling him she would go too, he was thinking too hard. She trailed behind him, chattering about nonsense.

Unfortunately his thoughts got him nowhere. He couldn't come up with anything in the end and he growled, frustrated as he reached his driveway.

It was then that he felt a sudden crushing weight, a stifling kind of suffocation. Turning, he gasped as a large hand reached through the sky, swinging right at him. Eyes widening, he grabbed Yuzu by the shoulders and dove to the ground, the hollows attack whizzing over them.

"Shit!" he swore as he glanced back up at their attacker.

Blinking, he saw a red baseball cap flash before his eyes, blood spurting across the street as his memory flashed before him. No, not again. "Get up!" his voice yelled as the rest of the ugly monster stepped through the crack in the air. Yuzu scrambled to her feet and he tucked her behind him, watching with determination as the hollow revealed itself to him.

With a sickening kind of drop, his heart splashed into his stomach, his mouth dropping open. This wasn't your average run of the mill hollow. It was an arrancar, an incomplete one at least. It sported a sword and a cracked mask, and it smiled down at him mockingly.

"Look at this!" it bellowed, his voice knocking them back to the ground. Yuzu screamed, tears leaking from her eyes and Grimmjow did his best to shield her small body without crushing her. "If it isn't Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!" Yuzu whispered something about Ichigo, and Grimmjow scowled. Ichigo was at school in detention, detention that the sixth had purposefully gotten him into.

What should he do?

Her father was around wasn't he? But wouldn't he have shown up already if he was?

Shit!

"I never thought I'd get the chance to say I'd beaten up an Espada," the hollow laughed, "let alone eaten one. I guess anything's possible!"

"You don't stand a chance!" Grimmjow forced a smile onto his face as he stood. Yuzu crouched behind him. "I'll kick your ass!" He just needed enough time to get Yuzu out of the situation, just a few seconds and-

"Please!" the hollow howled with laughter and with a movement that Grimmjow hadn't even seen coming, the arrancar ran his fist into Grimmjow's human body, lifting him off the ground, his body flying through the air as his cheek shoved into the hard flesh of the hollows hand.

Yuzu screamed and scooted up the driveway, the monsters attack only just missing her. She watched with horror as Grimmjow was tossed down the street like a rag-doll, his eyes wide as he flew through the air.

"You're just a puny human!" the hollow bellowed and stomped down the street in pursuit of Grimmjow. Yuzu watched, completely frozen in shock.

The air was knocked out of him as he watched the road fly out from beneath him, his skin pulled back against his face from the force at which he flew. He could see the brick wall of a nearby house coming at him, but he couldn't do anything about it, he was going to be splattered against it, his human guts exploding. He could already see it and he swore against his weakness.

"Don't kill 'im yet!" another voice echoed across the clearing, his free fall suddenly halted as another strong hand caught him, his head snapping forward at the sheer force of the catch, his back breaking. He wanted to yell out in agony, but his voice failed him as his lungs emptied once again. "I thought we were going to play with 'im first." There were two. Two arrancar.

"Pha!" the other crushed his way over to them, "He pissed me off, said he was going to kick my ass. I couldn't hold back!" The original hollow laughed again, the sound bursting Grimmjow's eardrums as blood trickled down the side of his face, the skin rubbed clean off to reveal the bone. The impact point where the hollow had thrown him. "But I did say that, so what should we do with him?"

"Humans are pretty fragile," the other ones voice was higher in pitch, and his laugh was more of a cackled than a boom. Glancing up, Grimmjow failed to make out its face, his vision was too blurry. "I want 'im to feel the pain, but what can we do to 'im that's not goin' to kill 'im straight off?"

He couldn't breathe; his ribcage was being crushed into his lungs.

"Put him down, now _you're_ killing him!" the other stated and his captor dropped him. He had air once again, but it was swiftly stolen away as his body collided with the road, his skull cracking violently, his leg bending backwards, breaking as his back crashed into the asphalt. He wanted to scream, but again his voice was stuck in a vacuum. "Don't drop him! You idiot! You almost killed him _again_!"

"Ah, sorry," the other laughed evilly.

Gasping, Grimmjow's eyes nearly popped out of his head as the bony hand of the second hollow came down hard around his middle, the street cracking all around him as he was shoved into the ground.

"So what can we do to him?" the loud one jumped, the road breaking again as he landed, his face shoved towards Grimmjow's as if to examine him. "I want to hear him scream, but it's hard not killing humans!"

"We 'ave a few options," the second one stated as he tightened his hold around the ex-hollow. "We could dig 'is guts out, or rip 'is dick off. Or we could tear 'im apart limb from limb until finally all we 'ave to do is pop 'is 'ead off." They both laughed and Grimmjow's heart skyrocketed. He was really going to die. What the fuck? Killed by two incomplete arrancar? Bullshit! Fucking _bullshit_!

"I think we should do all three!" the first one shouted and grabbed Grimmjow's arm. The sixth tried to struggle, but was obviously to no avail. Damn them! Damn this human body! Damn Aizen! Damn Ichigo for not being there! Damn, damn, _damn_!

"**Pop** goes the weasel!" the second one taunted and Grimmjow finally let out a blood curtailing roar. He could feel the skin stretching, his bones snapping, the muscles in his shoulder ripping. Like some kind of twisted science experiment, they were ripping him apart. With a little more force, his arm broke free, the skin holding him together tearing like paper as blood broke through, flooding the road with what little life he had left.

"That was a little too easy!" the big one guffawed as he tossed the separated limb somewhere behind him, the useless piece of flesh plopping to the ground somewhere in the distance.

"Try one of the legs," the other egged quickly, excited. "It's bound to be harder to rip then those little arms." Eyeing him speculatively, the bigger one's smile widened more.

"I think I'll go for option two instead!" he bellowed.

"How about you go with option four," the sixths eyes snapping open, they fluttered around the street. "The one where you release my son and I destroy you both." Harribel! But what could she...

"Look, another one!" the big one exclaimed in excitement. "We can kill two!" The second one froze, his gaze becoming serious as he stared over Grimmjow at the approaching woman. No, this was Tia Harribel, the woman they had been warned to avoid.

"I don't think so," she muttered dangerously. Placing her finger in the ring of the Zanpakuto attached to her back, the blonde woman drew forth the hallowed blade, her eyes glued to the arrancar standing before her. "You've messed with the wrong family."

It was that fast. One minute, the arrancar had been laughing, the next, it was cut clean in half. It was then that the pressure that had been placed upon Grimmjow's middle let up, allowing him to breathe again, if the action mattered. He didn't know how close to death he was.

The last hollow backed up, opening a garganta behind it to escape through. But Harribel was faster. Using shunpo to jump, she swung her blade faster than the monster could follow, the strange looking Zanpakuto cracking its mask with one swift slice. It howled and disappeared into nothing.

Turning, she flashed back over to Grimmjow, worry evident in every crease of her face.

He could just barely make her out as his vision blurred beyond comprehension. She wore a black kimono, the two lightning bolt tattoos she had sported as a hollow once again present on her tanned face. She had sheathed her sword, and as Grimmjow's mind clouded over, he could only say one thing.

"Shinigami..."

**ooooooooooooooooooooo**

GAH, I WILL NEVER WRITE A CHAPTER IN Pages AGAIN! None of the italics transferred when I uploaded it or any of the bolds. I had to turn it into a doc, email it to myself so I could open it on my desktop, and go through and redo all the bolds and italics (sifting through 20 pages is not fun, especially when it's single spaced)! You've read the chapter; it would have been very lack luster without the italics! And now I have to do the same thing with the next chapter (because it's already written, lowl!). Damn you Mac, so frustrating.

Enough about that.

Well that was fun to write. Sorry, nothing even close to a whole lot of fluff, but some action is always welcome, yes? So part of the mystery behind Harribel is revealed. Snap.

Poor Ulquiorra, that kitten really got him good. That was actually inspired by something that happened to my dad with the cat that the one in this story is based off of. She's CRAZY and will attack you any chance she can get.

As to the pool scene, it was supposed to give all the other people a look at the more human side of the Espada, showing that maybe they're not monsters after all, and how much they do actually care about each other whether they would admit it or not.

Silly Grimmjow doesn't know how to swim.

As to the end, I think it was pretty self explanatory. But now the secrets out! But Grimmjow's not the only one being targeted, our instigators have more than him to try and dispose of. How many arrancar are in Karakura? Well you'll just have to wait and see. Needless to say, cloud nine is no longer available, things are getting serious for our characters. Trust me, I already wrote the next chapter, I know (damn you Mac... mumble, grumble...).

This is the first chapter I've written straight through without stopping. I never even saved it from beginning to end, woops! That could have ended badly.

Hope you all like despite the lack of mushiness.

Luff to allz!

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE!


	15. What Lies Hidden in Your Heart

**The Definition of Love**

_"**Weep** for **yourself**, my man,  
you'll **never be** what is in your **heart**  
**weep** little lion man,  
you're not as **brave** as you were at the **start**  
**rate** yourself and **rake** yourself,  
take all the **courage** you **have left**  
**wasted** on fixing all the **problems**  
that you made in **your own head**_

_but it was not your **fault** but **mine**  
and it was your **heart on the line**  
I really **fucked** it up this time  
didn't I, my **dear**?  
didn't I, my..."_

**_Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons_**

**Chapter 15: What Lies Hidden in Your Heart**

"Tessai," Urahara made his way outside the shop. Gazing up at the sky he considered their situation carefully. "Can you and Hachi put up a barrier all around Karakura, one that will block reiatsu signals from escaping?"

"Of course," the dark skinned man bowed. "Hiding reiatsu is a very low level spell, putting up a shield will be easy." The blonde man nodded.

"Good, thank you," he pulled his hat lower on his head. "We don't need Soul Society finding out about what's going on down here, not yet."

**O **

"Inoue!" Turning to look up, the red haired woman gasped, her silver eyes widening. "Orihime Inoue!"

She had felt it as soon as it had happened. Hundreds of hollows opening garganta's all over the city. He'd felt it too, and together the two of them had begun sprinting back towards the school. Ichigo was there, they had to make sure he knew. Not only that, but Orihime wanted to be on the front lines. If anyone was injured, she would be there.

"Harribel?" Ulquiorra's whispered gasp of the woman's name only made it all the more concrete that it was in fact the ex-hollow jumping towards them dressed as shinigami, Grimmjow's body held precariously in her arms.

"Please Inoue," she shunpoed down to them, her face desperate as she set the blue haired man at her feet. "Please take care of him. My kidou isn't strong enough to restore his arm." Nodding quickly, the young woman summoned forth her Shun Shun Rikka, placing a shield around the dying man.

"How are you-"

"Not now Ulquiorra," drawing her sword, the blonde woman jumped back into the air. Glancing back once, she stared her younger son down. "Stay with Inoue, you'll be safe with her." And with those parting words, she vanished, no trace of her left besides the body she'd dropped before them.

Ulquiorra could only stare with wide eyes, confusion written all over his face.

**O**

"Stay here," stripping himself of his gigai, the white haired youth jumped to the heavens, drawing his zanpakuto and downing the nearest arrancar with ease. Compared to who he'd been up against during the war, these guys were nothing.

"You can't tell me what to do!" she exclaimed as she jumped past him. He watched with wide eyes as she flashed towards the next one, about to stop her. He was too slow, and with what looked like experienced ease, she stripped the arrancar of its mask, sending it into nothing. Turning back to him, she smiled. "So stop trying to."

"You're not strong enough for-"

"Apparently I am," she rebuked, "so stop worrying and pay attention, there's more coming." Turning on his heel, the captain watched with quiet determination as a huge garganta opened above them, an army of menos making a show of trying to get into the human world. Pushing and shoving, the identical beings burst forth, screaming defiance.

Placing his sword before him, the captain caught Karin forming almost the exact same stance next to him, her eyes casting a wary glance on the group of hollow headed right for them.

"You sure you want to take them?" he asked, readying his sword to plunge into the heads of the horrific monsters.

"Of course," she smiled cockily. "These guys are nothing." Gazes hardening, the two young shinigami entered the fray.

**O**

"What the hell is going on?" he yelled as his two comrades flitted to his side. Swords drawn, the three shinigami watched with growing horror as hollow after hollow emerged from Hueco Mundo. They varied from average hollow to very weak incomplete arrancar, and they were easily destroyed.

"I don't know," Rukia replied through gritted teeth as she destroyed another approaching monster. "They're popping up everywhere." Flipping in mid air, Ichigo swiped a row of three, his guardless sword cutting through them easily.

"How the fuck are we supposed to kill them all?" he asked and slashed another one. "They're going to overtake us using sheer numbers at this rate. This is worse than the time Uryu baited them to come." Rukia bit her lip nervously as another wave burst through.

"Soul Society will show up soon," Renji assured as he cracked his sword across a group headed towards him. They faded away easily. "I have to wonder if this attack is caused by the same... 'people' that were after your sister."

"You don't think this is all a big distraction do you?" Rukia asked and turned to her old friend. Ichigo's eyes widened in fear out of the corner of her own. "Don't worry Ichigo," she began quickly, "Karin is with Toshiro and I sense Yuzu is at Urahara's shop, and I sense...?"

"What?" Ichigo asked as he flashed to her side. "What is it?"

"I... no, that can't be right... she's a human, but she's headed this way... and her reiatsu is...?" Concentrating, Ichigo and Renji did their best to sense what Rukia was and only had to catch a small amount to understand what she was confused about.

Turning, Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the oncoming force.

"Nel?"

He wasn't the only one watching that was shocked to see her. Shocked, and disgusted.

**O**

"Ugh, I hate this!" the black haired karate champion yelled from her position below the combat. Keigo stood with her, she'd run across him on her way to find Orihime once the hollow had started showing up. Above them, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Uryu, Chad, and Rangiku were fighting off horde after horde of the malicious monsters.

"So do I," Keigo shuddered. "What if one gets us?" Tatsuki ignored the urge to punch the brunette and instead began running again, trying to keep her eyes focused on finding her best friend. She could sense her up ahead; she should be coming up on her soon.

Turning a corner, she saw an orange glow.

Orihime!

"Hey!" she yelled and waved, glad when her best friend turned back to her. Racing forward, she stopped right in front of the redhead, panting. "Do you guys know what's going on? All these hollow just... started... is that... Grimmjow?" Paling, the smaller of the women held her breath, watching with wide eyes as the arm that had once been attached to the blue haired man started to reform. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Orihime replied and turned her eyes back to Ulquiorra. The fourth was still staring up at the sky, his face empty as he watched the battle progress right over his head. The blankness of his eyes, it worried her. What was he thinking about? "I really... have no idea..."

**O**

"Hmm," tapping his fingers on the stainless steel table, the scientist gazed lazily into a single vial filled with green reiatsu. It was an old specimen, aged by a year or so. He had a few others like it, but he was hesitant to use them. He had no way to replenish them.

Still, he had a good view of the battle from here, all the hollows now invading the world of the living had sensors on them. He saw everything that happened. But it was awfully boring. Not only had those two failed to kill Grimmjow, but it turned out that Ulquiorra was alive. How very tedious.

But if he used these vials... things could get a considerable amount more interesting. Of course they wouldn't be able to release, and they wouldn't stand even the slightest chance against Kurosaki in the end, but the looks on there faces would be priceless.

Yes, despite the loss of the specimens, he would play this game. Besides, if Nnoitra got to play, then why shouldn't he?

**oOo**

"Shit!" glancing around, the captain scanned the skies, but she was nowhere in sight. He didn't know when they had gotten separated. There were too many hollows surrounding him, too many gillian. They just kept tumbling out of the sky, covering everything in a thick black cloak. The air was too bloated, too suffocating, with their reiatsu. His senses were jammed!

Dammit! Where was Karin?

"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens,Hyorinmaru!" Like the night after an ice storm, the hollows were suddenly frozen, sparkling all around him, beautiful in a terrible kind of way. Striking downward, the captain dispersed the ice, breaking it into shards, the frozen pieces of the menos shattering as well.

But his attack didn't reach far enough. Yes, many of the menos had been destroyed, yet only more seemed to consume him. Scowling, he once again sent his Zanpakuto about, freezing hollow after hollow yet never seeming to decrease their numbers. The enemies' sheer amount would be the death of them, never mind how strong or weak they were.

And still no Karin.

How far deep into the fray was she? How far had she been sucked in?

He felt as though he would never find her.

Dammit!

"What are you waiting for you idiot?" Turning, the white haired captain's eyes widened as a path was blown through the menos, a light blue spirit energy surging past him. Rising from the glow jumped a single small form clad in shinigami robes. "I know you have more power than that, what are you waiting for?" He watched with a dropped jaw as the green haired girl surged past him, a yellow hilted zanpakuto with a curved blade clenched in her small hands, her pink eyes straying to him only momentarily as a single word rolled offer her tongue.

"Bankai."

Surging back, his eyes widened at the sheer amount of reiatsu suddenly released upon him. Raising his hands to his face, he closed his eyes and tried to defend against the force, but it was shoving him back. It was strong enough to be a captains. Incredible.

"Didn't you hear me?" her voice echoed above the chaos, the reiatsu suddenly falling away to reveal a single girl standing in the aftermath. Beside her stood a large bluish-grey wolf, its red eyes staring him down as she did much the same. "I said get your ass in gear, we have to find Karin." She was scowling down at him, her hair blowing carelessly in the cleared air.

Her power had destroyed a majority of the menos surrounding them, but more were moving in.

"What _are_ you?" he asked defensively, pulling his frozen sword out before him. She rolled her eyes. He wasn't sure what to think of what had just happened, not entirely sure that a hollow had just released a bankai. Yet there she stood before him, her release small compared to that of a normal shinigami.

In fact, it was very similar to Ichigo Kurosaki's. Her sword had taken the form of a single wolf, her kimono reverting back to her original outfit as an Espada, only it remained black instead of white. Yes, very similar to Ichigo's.

She wore no mask and had no hole.

"If you have time to ask questions," she scolded, "then you have time to look for Karin!" She was curling her lip down at him, her pink eyes disgusted. He growled. Who was she to tell him what to do anyway? "She's not that experienced, we have to find her!" And with those final words, the young girl turned on him, surging down towards the closest group of menos. With a flick of her hands, the wolf vanished and reappeared before the menos, biting down on them and leaving a series of explosions behind.

Following her, his captains cloak billowing out behind him, he watched as she destroyed menos after menos, her power awe-inspiring as she hunted for her friend.

Throwing Hyorinmaru forward, the white haired youth took on another group opposite the girl, successfully disposing of them before moving onto the next faction. It continued on like this for a few minutes until they met up once again, the hollow girl obviously irritated. He didn't trust her in the least, but she was helping him now, so that would have to do until he found Karin.

"Dammit, where is she?" the pink eyed one swore as she stared around the clearing, her wolf companion staring up at her with unblinking red eyes. "She couldn't have gotten far, I can still sense her in the area, but all these menos make it hard to spot her!"

"I know," Toshiro agreed. "I should have made her go back to Urahara's, but she wouldn't listen. Now she's-"

"Stand Upon the Scorched World!" Turning, the two young shinigami watched with gaping mouths as an explosion of fire spread across the heavens, enveloping hundreds of menos and burning them into nothingness, their screams fading to the wind. "Enkouinmaru!"

A first release was always the most dangerous.

Like a wave of death, fire rose out of nothing, turning the sky to ash, decimating the hollows. The sea of flames spread into the opening of Hueco Mundo, licking at the edges of the sky as the sheer force of the release melted the entire army of hollows waiting beyond, their terrible screams a mere remnant of their existence.

"Wow," Lilynette gasped as she backed into Toshiro by accident, her awe at the power dumping her into a stupor. Toshiro felt much the same, but he recognized the spectacle as well. Like his first release had been, her power engulfed the world, leaving it in a heated, burning, screaming state of affairs. Granted, his had been a frozen, desolate, silent reaction instead, but it _felt_ the same.

And as fast as it had appeared, the flames died, curling backwards to their source some ways above them in the sky.

"Let's go," Toshiro whispered and flashed up, followed close behind by the green haired hollow girl. Jumping up behind her, Karin whipped around to face them. She was breathing hard, an orange colored dragon curled up around her, the fire licking her clothes but doing no damage. Soon though even that faded, leaving her sword once again as a yellow hilted zanpakuto.

"Lilynette?" she breathed, her eyebrows coming together curiously.

"I'll explain everything later," the other girl stated quickly. "I hope you're going to be able to call out your shikai more than once though, if that's all you can do. More trouble on the way." Glancing up, the three youths spotted more hollows entering their world in place of the menos Karin had destroyed.

"Is that really a bankai?" he had to know and Lilynette turned to him with a smug grin.

"You better believe it," she replied, her eyes gaining a slightly sadistic glint as hundreds of hollows bounded their way towards them. Raising her hand to her face, she whispered, "and this, my friend, is a mask."

**O**

"No way," Ichigo breathed, his jaw dropping as the turquoise haired woman stepped into their line of sight some twenty yards away. Bringing her sword down in a graceful ark, she destroyed a single arrancar with ease, her black kimono billowing in the wind. Turning to the group of shinigami staring at her, she smiled, her tattooed nose scrunching ever so slightly.

"Is that really her?" Renji's eyes bulged. Last he'd seen her she'd been a little kid, but this... she was a full grown woman! Just like Ichigo had said she was when he'd explained their battle with Nnoitra during the war.

"Ichigo!" she exclaimed, suddenly appearing before them, her long hair uncontrolled without the mask atop her head. "I've come to help you." She smiled, her shining white teeth a welcome change to the dingy hollow fighting they'd been commencing in. "I know you probably have a lot of questions, but we'll deal with those after we deal with these." Raising her green hilted zanpakuto once again, she leaped into battle, her long hair a stream flowing out behind her.

Ichigo could have sworn Renji was drooling.

"Get a grip Renji!" Rukia scolded him as she stomped on his foot. "We have work to do, you can ogle her afterwards you pervert!" Glaring down at her, Renji grumbled something about her being a downer and flashed away, his sword released and raised over his head.

"I don't know what the fuck is going on, but Nel is right, it's about time we ended this," he smiled at his shorter counterpart before gripping his sword arm with his opposing hand. "Bankai!"

With a flash of dark colored reiatsu, he was souring towards a group of arrancar, thin sword flashing, black robes blowing, as he struck them, downing more than ten in less than a few seconds, his enhanced speed and strength apparent.

Rukia grinned.

"Dance," swinging her sword in a graceful, counterclockwise circle, she watched as the beautiful zanpakuto materialized before her eyes, "Sode no Shirayuki!" White ribbon twisting in the wind, the stunningly white blade specked the air with ice flecks as its user drew it back for an attack. "Tsugi no mai," she no longer had to pull the snow from before her to summon it, she was past that point. It was drawn to her without commands now, "Hakuren!" Like a spearing avalanche, the snow and ice erupted from both her blade and four points in the ground, submerging the approaching hollow in a sheet of frozen death.

And with a single flick of her blade, it shattered, leaving no remnants of the hollow behind.

"Well that was a pretty little show wasn't it?" eyes widening, the seated officer of the thirteenth squad gasped up at the man standing above her, a demented grin spreading across his face. But it wasn't his height, his two double layered blades, or the creepy way his smile sank into her bones that caused her shock. No, it was the betrayal.

Behind him stood none other than Grimmjow, a sadistic grin on the sixths face as he stared down at her.

"I'm quite impressed," the black haired man continued as he pulled the two identical blades from his shoulders, the twin moons of each shining in the fading sunlight. "It's a pity I have to dispose of such a pretty little thing, but that's all it is, isn't it... pretty. Not much else can be expected of a woman."

She didn't know why she felt so betrayed; she should have seen it coming. Why had she ever placed any faith in the blue haired Espada? She should have known that given the chance he would turn on them. It was pathetic, the amount of faith she'd placed in him without even realizing it.

"When are you going to get over that silly prejudice of yours," Nel flashed up beside Rukia, surprising the still shocked shinigami, "Nnoitra." If at all possible, the teethe grin that had placed itself on the face of the tall man spread larger, his eyes brightening at the sight of his old rival.

Rukia didn't understand. Why wasn't Nel shocked to see that Grimmjow had betrayed them? Had she been expecting it?

Probably.

"Neliel," he cooed, "Nel Tu, I came just to see you." She narrowed her eyes at him, their silver-bronze flashing dangerously. Not soon after her arrival both Ichigo and Renji stepped up as well, their mouths dropping open, eyes popping, upon spotting the blue haired Espada standing some ways behind the fifth.

"What the hell?" Ichigo growled dangerously, his sword pointed accusingly at Grimmjow. "Fucking shit! I should have known better you asshole!" Grimmjow's smile deepened, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword, his loose white pants flapping in the wind.

"You _should_ have known better," he taunted as he slipped the sword from the sheath, "_Kurosaki_." He was fast, as fast as he had ever been. With one step, he was on Ichigo, the orange haired shinigami having just enough time to pull his sword up as he was thrown to the ground, Grimmjow pushing him downwards.

"Well that looks like fun," Nnoitra laughed as the two combating rivals faded beneath the clouds. "I think I may... _indulge_." Rukia's eyes widened even more as the tall man disappeared, appearing again right in front of her nose, one of his large cleavers coming down to slice her in half.

She didn't have enough time to move.

"Then why don't you pick on someone closer to your level," taking a deep breath, the dark haired shinigami watched as Nel parried the blow for her. "Bankai." Eyes widening, both Renji and Rukia flashed back, watching as pink reiatsu overcame the clearing momentarily, sparking to reveal the woman once again. She and Nnoitra were still blade to blade, only now her sword was a double sided silver lance, her black kimono altered, almost looking like an Espada uniform, but black.

"You think a measly transformation like that could defeat me?" he laughed as he pushed back, sending Nel backwards as well. "Please, you didn't stand a chance then and you don't stand a chance now."

The tall woman narrowed her eyes. "I'm not the fool you think I am," she stated, her hand coming up to her face. "I know when I'm outmatched, but I also know that you haven't seen even the base of my strength." Dark reiatsu filled the air, the blackness surrounded by a glowing strip of pink as the power encircled her pretty face, blackening it with sin.

"Vizard," Renji gaped as he watched the ex-hollow change.

He was right for when Nel pulled her hand away, she wore a mask once again, only this one was whole and not atop her head. Though it did resemble her previous hollow mask, it wasn't quite the same. Six long white teeth covered the lower half of her face, two large, rounded eye-sockets allowing her black rimmed yellow eyes to peer through, decorated horns curling around her ears.

Nnoitra scoffed, his grin turning to a frown.

"That's pathetic Nel," he shook his head. "And to think you were once a real hollow, now you're just some human wannabe. Truly, utterly sad. I have even less respect for you now than I did back then, and that's saying something."

"You shouldn't talk about things you know nothing about," she rebuked, her voice echoing with a darker, more sinister version of herself. Disappearing, she lunged at Nnoitra, her lance held tightly in her hand as she went to impale it upon his chest.

Reacting quickly, he raised one of his blades, parrying the blow with practiced skill, his other twin blade coming up to strike her upside the chin. Moving ever so slightly to the left, the tall woman dodged the undercut by just inches, her eyes narrowing as she pressed her old rival backwards, sending him through the air, his long limbs pulling out after him.

Leaping forward, she jumped from above him, her lance coming down once again as she tried to drive the point through his body.

He laughed.

"Nel," he easily blocked her attack, "you haven't changed at all have you?" She didn't reply, just flipped forward out of his range when she realized that her hit wasn't going to go through.

"Should we help?" Renji asked as he watched the battle with wide eyes, his own zanpakuto gripped tightly in his hands. Rukia had been considering the same thing, but wasn't sure how much good she or Renji would be. It was clear that these two were moving at speeds far faster than the two shinigami were used to. They were veteran fighters, their strength very obvious.

"You can't help her," both shinigami took in quick breaths, the hair on the backs of their necks standing on end as they turned to face their addresser. "You'll die if you try, you're too weak." The two paled. No, not him, of all of them not him.

If only for Orihime's sake.

"Ulquiorra?" Rukia gulped as she stared at the man standing calmly behind them, his hands in the pockets of his white pants. Two tear streaks ran down his cheeks, half a helmet's worth of hollow mask placed securely on his head.

There was a hole beneath his collar bone.

"That would be my name," he stated monotonously.

"Why...?" Renji shook his head, bafflement and betrayal once again etched into his features for the second time in the last ten minutes. "Why are you... you're not..."

"You are a bumbling fool," the fourth stated, his black lip remaining ever the forever frown. "I'm not here to listen to you mutter on incoherently." Pulling a single hand from his pocket, he pointed a dangerous finger at the two shocked shinigami. "I'm here on orders to destroy you."

Eyes widening even more, the two helpless warriors watched as green reiatsu gathered at the tip of his black nail, quite obviously a cero. She wanted to move, but the dark haired woman could only see Orihime's face in her mind, tears running down her cheeks when she realized what the man she had fallen for had become once again.

Monster.

"I don't think so," and once more, frozen by shock, the two shinigami were saved. Appearing from somewhere above them, the blonde woman came down hard on Ulquiorra, her hallowed blade causing him to rethink his actions. Retracting the cero, he opted for catching her zanpakuto in the palm of his hand instead.

The dark haired shinigami wanted to sigh in relief, but just as Harribel appeared, just as she had stopped Ulquiorra from ending their lives, there was another flash, another figure appearing out of what was thought to be thin air. He pummeled the third Espada, sending her towards the ground, his bald, ridged head imbedding itself in her side. Together, the two vanished below the clouds with Ichigo and Grimmjow. Ulquiorra was not at all fazed, his black hair blowing only slightly in the breeze.

And just like that, Renji and Rukia were once again back in action, their shock subdued by their need to survive.

"Bankai!" Renji's whole being glowed with red light, a cloud of dust surrounding him as his zanpakuto transformed into the linked serpent, its bone-like skull hissing in loud defiance.

"Pathetic," Ulquiorra decided, his feet still planted firmly in the same spot, his eyes holding absolutely nothing. He was the definition of hallow. "Even while using your bankai, you stand no chance against me."

"That's where you're wrong," eyes glancing up, Renji and Rukia encountered Ishida souring up into the air. Still dressed in his school uniform, he aimed a single arrow at the fourth, his anger and raw rage apparent in his dark eyes. "With all four of us against you, you'll go down." Releasing the arrow, it soured forward.

With what looked like tedious slowness, the green eyed man reached up and grabbed the arrow, throwing it to the side with a kind of insulting carelessness. It was at this point that Chad appeared from above, yelling a fierce battle cry as he tried to slam his fists into the Espada's skull. He failed; Ulquiorra had raised his arm to block the blow just in time, one of his hands still placed arrogantly in his pocket.

"Hikotsu Taiho!" Renji roared, throwing his arm into the full attack of his bankai. Twisting, the deadly snake opened its mouth, a red beam shooting lethally from the creature's mouth.

Expression never changing, Ulquiorra brought his other hand out, blocking the attack with little to no effort, the red beam splashing out around him as Zabimaru's nose collided with his palm.

The fourth didn't even flinch. He blocked Chad from above, the man's deadly power also splashing out in blue waves as he was successfully fended off. Renji's bankai collapsed like a slinky against his white palm, the beast roaring as it tried to push him back and failed.

Ishida readied another volley of arrows.

Rukia gripped her sword harder, her dark eyes flashing.

"Why?" she was screaming and Ulquiorra's green gaze flickered to her momentarily, appearing bored. "Why are you doing this? How can you live with yourself? You manipulated and betrayed us all! You... you made Orihime fall in love with you!"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I do not know what you are talking about," he stated as he pushed both Chad and Renji back, the two men sliding across the sky, off balance by the sheer force of Ulquiorra's strength. "If that woman has developed feelings for me then it is not my fault. Emotions are weakness."

Rukia let out a strangled scream, her rage clouding her judgment as she launched herself forward. "You bastard!" All she could see was red; her sword held so tightly in her hands that she drew her own blood.

Yet he had the audacity to look bored.

Raising her blade, she knew this was probably the end of her, but she didn't care. All she could envision was Orihime, how her heart would break, soft, innocent tears spilling down her cheeks, her soul forever scarred by a risk she would regret for the rest of her life.

The dark haired shinigami knew what that felt like, to see someone you loved turn against you.

She saw Kaien's face now, dripping in blood.

"You are a foolish woman," he stated as he raised a single finger, his cero her death sentence. But she'd faced death many times before in her life. She would be damned to fear it now. She regretted nothing besides not being able to give this horrid man what he deserved.

"She is," and as the green forcefield was released, she was thrown to the side, her eyes widening as the cero was split right down the middle by a single man's hand. Brown hair waving in the wind, he brought a silver pistol to Ulquiorra's head, pulled the trigger, and released a blue cero of his own. Green eyes widening, the traitor only saw the light of day for a few more seconds before his head was blow off his body, disintegrating into nothing. Toppling backwards, what was left of him fell from the heavens, disappearing below the clouds. "But so am I," Starrk finished as he watched the body plummet, his eyes flashing with pain only momentarily.

Turning to the shinigami, he nodded to them.

"Sorry I'm so late," he started as they stared at him with shocked expressions. He'd done that... so easily... hadn't Ulquiorra been like a son to him? "It takes a long time to shunpo here from England." Like Nel, he sported what look like an old Espada uniform only turned black, his Zanpakuto taking on the form of a single pistol. Another strange Bankai.

"You... just..." Renji was horrified, not entirely sure whether to be labeling this man their savior or a monster himself. Starrk didn't even seem to notice the redhead had spoken though as he stared down at the clouds.

"I suppose I should go help Harribel," he muttered and with one final look at the four gawkers, he vanished.

**O**

"Why are you doing this?" Ichigo ground out as the air rushed by him, Grimmjow's blade against his own as the sixth sent them plummeting down, down, down. It wouldn't be long until they would crash into Karakura, and with a deliberate kind of force, Ichigo pushed the sixth back, successfully separating them. Skidding to a halt across the sky, Ichigo whipped his head up to stare at the man above him.

"Doing what?" he asked innocently, as innocent as Grimmjow could be. "You knew this would happen eventually." Pointing his blue hilted sword at his rival, Grimmjow laughed. "You want it too, you want to fight me. Don't deny it Kurosaki." Ichigo growled, his hold on his zanpakuto tightening.

"Why does it have to be like _this_?" He couldn't hide his anger, his rage, his... betrayal. What a fool he'd been to actually believe Grimmjow capable of change. "I'll fight you any time you want Grimmjow, you _know_ that! So why did you have to go back to _this_?" Narrowing his catlike features, the sixth frowned.

"What the hell are you talking about shinigami," he ground out, his voice dangerous. "This is who I've always been and always will be." Surging downward, the blue haired man brought his sword up and above Ichigo's head, readying a fierce blow. Parrying it easily, the two were frozen in midair, a battle of wits and strength commencing as each tried to overpower the other.

"You bastard," the orange haired teenager was gritting his teeth. "You fucking bastard! I can't believe I saved your life! I should have let you drown!" Still no emotions crossed the Espada's face and he flipped away, landing gracefully in the air some yards away from the panting shinigami.

"Have you gone completely insane Kurosaki?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I guess it can only be expected considering your state of affairs." He grinned again, half his sadistic display hidden behind a teethe hollow mask. "Now do me a favor and bring out that mask of your so I can beat you in a fair fight."

"I won't!" Ichigo yelled, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Not against scum like you! You don't deserve to fight me at full strength! I'll deal with you now just like this!" Pursing his lips, the smaller of the two did his best to avoid acting on anger. Fighting on instinct was one thing, anger was quite another.

Grimmjow glared at him, his face taking a downturn. "You _will_ bring out that mask," he decided firmly. "Even if I have to force it out of you." Disappearing, the blue haired man appeared behind the shinigami, sword coming down fast.

Reaching around his shoulders, Ichigo blocked the attack was ease, his face nose to nose with Grimmjow's as he turned to face his opponent.

"Those eyes," Grimmjow spat, their swords creating sparks as they ran against each other. "I hate them. You _will_ stop looking down on me!" He was roaring now and Ichigo could only stare back with pity. He'd never looked down on Grimmjow, not once, until this very moment. What a fool, a power hungry fool. He'd thrown away everything, family, friends, for this meaningless existence. He'd been consumed by his hollow after all.

Flashing away, Ichigo came at the Espada from above, the tip of his blade looking to stab the blue haired man down through his skull. Bringing his own blade up to block the blow, Grimmjow grinned, his other hand coming up, a cero swirling there.

Ichigo wasn't fazed; the only thing he could feel was anger and sadness. What foolishness...

Grabbing Grimmjow's hand with his own, he subdued the cero with ease, much to the Espada's obvious surprise.

"I don't know what you think you're doing Grimmjow," Ichigo muttered dangerously, "but you know of me and my reputation. Your power level is nothing compared to mine anymore, not if you don't release and not if you haven't progressed since our last fight." Closing his fist, Ichigo destroyed the cero. "I'll kill you now, once and for all. No pity this time, because I know now that it is fruitless to hope that you'll understand." Eyes widening, Grimmjow shot backwards, vanishing only to reappear some yards back.

But Ichigo had never lost sight of him. With speed Grimmjow apparently didn't know he possessed, he was on him, his black blade too fast. Grimmjow couldn't parry it, he would die.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo whispered as his blade broke the strong hollow armor of Grimmjow's chest. "So sorry Grimmjow, rival... friend." Confusion crossed the bigger man's face, his brow furrowing as Zangetsu surged forward, slicing through skin, organ, bone and blood, only to reappear once again on the other side, punching through the blue haired mans back.

With a gurgled gasp, Grimmjow's blue eyes faded, dying as blood dribbled down his chin.

Ichigo closed his eyes, he couldn't look. He tried numbing himself as the blood finally broke through, spraying both the heavens and the shinigami with Grimmjow's life-force. He tried to ignore the liquid that engulfed his face and chest, how warm it was, human.

Stupid, stupid Grimmjow.

Letting the corpse fall forward, Ichigo allowed his zanpakuto to continue on through, Grimmjow's body collapsing to his shoulder as he slowly lowered himself to the top of the nearest building.

With pain numbing quickness, he pulled his zanpakuto from Grimmjow's chest, laying the corpse down with a ginger kind of gentleness. Reaching up, he closed the shocked eyes of a dying man, his heart aching at the sight before him. What a fool he had been, hoping Grimmjow could change. Fruitless hoping, heart wrenching hopes.

What was he supposed to tell his family? His friends? How could he face Harribel and Ulquiorra again with Grimmjow's blood once again searing his flesh?

How would he face _Lilynette_? How could he possibly tell her that he'd slain her older brother? How could he...?

"Dammit!" he swore loudly, his fists banging against the concrete of the building's roof, his eyes closing in frustration. "Dammit, dammit, **dammit**! Damn you! _**Damn you Grimmjow**_!" Pursing his lips, he trembled with rage and grief. "_Why are you always making my life hell?_"

**O**

"What are you doing here Yammy?" She asked as she shakily rose to her feet, blood dripping down her side where he had struck her as well as her head where she had collided with the road. "What purpose do you have with us?" He smiled down at her, his sharp cheek bones only seeming to make him all the more sinister.

"What other purpose do I have," he laughed, "other than to destroy weak trash like you?" Bringing his large fist down, her tried to squash the blonde woman like the bug she was, but failed as she shunpoed out of his reach.

"You are the weak one Yammy," she hissed from behind him, pulling her hallowed sword around to face the attacking beast. But he was onto her and with one swift smack, he'd once again caught her off guard, sending her spiraling through several buildings.

"Please," he laughed again. "You're the one that gave up being a hollow to become a shinigami. And as expected, you don't stand a chance against me." Jumping, he bounded over the multiple streets he'd sent her through, stomping down hard on the asphalt just beside her bloodied and bruised body. "Little worm."

Harribel struggled to her feet, cursing her arrogance. She should have known that even in her advanced evolutionary state, she'd have to transform further to face off against someone like Yammy. Stupid, stupid mistake.

"Hmm," straightening, Yammy turned away from her. "What's this?" Eyes widening, the blonde shinigami stepped forward rashly to halt the large mans advances, but was thrown back once again by his fist, her body sent souring down the street.

"Yammy..." he stared up at the large man with deep green eyes, his hands placed nonchalantly in the pockets of his school uniform. Eyeing him with a raised eyebrow, the big man smirked before breaking out in terrible laughter.

"Ulquiorra," he drawled. "Long time no see... trash..." The fourth narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. There was nothing to say. "Are you going to transform into a weak shinigami too? Or you just a pathetic human still?" Anger flared into the ex-hollows eyes momentarily, the gull of having Yammy talk to him like this hardly bearable.

Yammy was the trash. Always was and always would be.

"I guess it doesn't really matter anyway," he continued. "You're dead either way, just like that blonde friend of yours." With speed Ulquiorra couldn't register, Yammy brought his thumb and forefinger forward, smiling more deeply as he casually flicked the fourth across the chest.

Eyes widening, Ulquiorra felt the blow register like a thousand cannon balls impaling upon his ribs. Bones cracking, the air around him turned into a vacuum, the scenery blurring into one unrecognizable blob as he was tossed through the air, his stomach and heart falling forward, his brain rattling in his skull. Wind whipping around him, he barely registered his neck snapping as his useless human body flew out of sight of both his woman, her best friend, and the now conscious Grimmjow.

One individual was able to process his flight, and with practiced skill, she flashed behind him before he could splatter through the chain links of a metal fence. Holding him around the middle, he coughed violently as air was once again allowed to enter his punctured lungs, blood spitting out of his mouth. Shaking, he vaguely recognized the tanned arm now encircling him protectively, the white bone of her armor cold against his throbbing body.

The bone skirt encircling her waist blew in the wind, her knee high white boots shining in the fading sunlight. He could see her large blade held firmly in her hands, the three markings along the center of the huge weapon glowing with furious yellow reiatsu.

Grimmjow had thought Shinigami.

Ulquiorra registered only hollow.

"Yammy, leave this place now before I inflict on you scars you won't be able to heal," pulling Ulquiorra even closer to her body, she tightened her hold on him, her blade rising as she sonidoed forward, the air once again knocked out of him as his human body failed to catch up to speed. "La Gota," she hissed, water enveloping the base of her blade and shooting forward with dangerous speed, a liquid dagger crashing through the atmosphere.

Yammy scowled and flashed out of the way just in time to avoid the dangerous spear. It crashed to the ground, completely destroying the road around it, a gaping crater left behind. Yeah, that would have left a mark.

Cursing, he glanced up at the woman who had once again appeared out of nowhere, no longer in the form of a shinigami, but in her released hollow form. He didn't understand how she'd done it since he was still unable to once again reach _his_ release form, but he didn't have the time to figure it out.

Her reiatsu was different than it used to be, stronger, freer. More dangerous.

He didn't stand a chance against her with his current abilities.

Another dagger soured through the sky towards him. Growling, he took in once more the pathetic way she hoarded Ulquiorra to her side before opening a garganta and slipping through, vanishing once again into the abyss.

"Ulquiorra!" he was barely able to register his Woman's voice as he was flown to the ground. There was immediately an orange shield thrown around him as he was laid down next to Grimmjow, the blue haired man sitting up and staring at Harribel with wide, confused eyes.

"I guess you didn't need my help after all," Starrk flitted into view, causing everyone except for Ulquiorra, who was too busy trying to breathe, to gasp. "And I came all the way from England to help, but there's nothing to do."

Harribel smiled though it was a pained expression as she stared down at Grimmjow and Ulquiorra.

"Be thankful," she whispered as she turned away from them to glance up at the sky. "That means this battle is almost over."

**oOo**

"Good, it seems everyone made it out alive," Urahara rose from his seated position outside the shop, his hat pulled heavily over his eyes as shinigami, hollows, and humans slowly began to appear at his door. "And Soul Society is none the wiser."

"What do you mean?" Renji's eyes widened as he stared at the blonde man. "You stopped Soul Society from coming? How? Why? If those hollow hadn't started to retreat then we could be-"

"But you're not," the scientist cut in. "It wasn't their prerogative to stay long. They were simply trying to rid themselves a few nuisances and upon finding out that these individuals were either too powerful for them to take on or heavily guarded, they retreated." The shop owner sighed.

"What is going on Urahara," Rukia hissed. "Those hollow have got powers again," she motioned carelessly to Lilynette who bristled, "others have evolved back into fully fledged arrancar, how is this possible without the power of the Hogyoku? I imagine you have something to do with the human's once again regaining their powers, but what about those hollow? How is it possible?"

"Can't you feel it?" the shop owner glanced at her with sad eyes. "Every time one of those garganta's is opened, the sheer force of it is stifling." She shook his head. "There is a power in Hueco Mundo that is growing with each passing day. The sheer force of it is what is allowing the hollow to evolve once again. Like when Ichigo's reiatsu awakened powers in mere humans, this power is giving those hollow enough of a boost for them to once again regain their abilities as arrancar, and even giving virgin hollows that ability as well. Hueco Mundo is turning into a powerhouse."

"W-what?" Captain Hitsugaya was gaping, his eyes widening into saucers. "If there really is something that powerful in Hueco Mundo then we need to go destroy it before it gets any more powerful!"

"No," Urahara stated firmly. "The Court Guard Squads would be destroyed if they went into that hellhole now. You saw the attack today. If you enter Hueco Mundo it will be thousands of times what you faced today. We must wait for them to come to us or face annihilation. Whoever is behind this has all of Hueco Mundo under their control. Unfortunately they don't understand the power they're dealing with."

"What do you mean?" Uryu narrowed his eyes at the shopkeeper.

"Whoever is allowing the soul that is causing this disruption to grow stronger is mistaken in thinking that they'll be able to control it. Like Aizen with the Hogyuku, they are unaware of the power they hold, and how uncontrollable it is. Unfortunately, this new force has a mind and body all its own, and once it finally reaches its peak and realizes its own desires..."

"So why are you keeping this from Soul Society?" Renji interjected. "If you explained this to them, then maybe-"

"You are failing to understand me," the blonde man snapped. "There will undoubtedly be many more complete arrancar made, a force stronger than the Espada with abilities that surpass theirs. The Soul Society doesn't have the power to fight that, not without help."

"Help?" Toshiro furrowed his brows.

"He means us," Lilynette cut in and all eyes were drawn to her. "Like vizards, we have powers that outrank that of a normal shinigami. Us ex-hollow are even stronger than the vizards really." Urahara nodded.

"What would Soul Society think if they knew I was making a small army of... of beings just like Ichigo?" Rukia blinked in surprise, what did that mean? Beings just like Ichigo? But Ichigo was just a really powerful vizard... wasn't he?

She didn't get to voice her question though as just then the subject of her thoughts flashed into the clearing.

He was drenched in blood, his eyes distressed as he slowly laid a red corpse out before them.

"I didn't... he just started attacking..." his gaze was drawn to a wide-eyed Lilynette, her face paling at the sight of her dead brother leaking blood right before her very eyes. "I didn't want to kill him..."

"This... this doesn't make any sense..." she stuttered, her eyebrows coming together in confusion. "There no way that- that-"

"That's not Grimmjow," turning, the group watched with shock as Harribel and Starrk flashed into the clearing next to Ichigo, Tatsuki and Orihime in the thirds arms, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow in the primera's. "He's here with us." The blonde woman smiled as comfortingly as she could at Ichigo as she set the women in her arms down on the ground.

"W-what?" Ichigo was stuttering, his eyes wide with shock as his heart came to a halting stop inside his chest. He caught Grimmjow's blue eyes as the sixth was set down on the ground before flashing them back up to Harribel. The still living blue haired teenager was staring at his identical corpse with a gaping mouth, his own breath catching in his throat. "But I... I killed... he's..."

"Thank you Ichigo," stepping forward, the tall blonde woman dressed in a plain black kimono pulled him into a tight embrace. His eyes widened even more in shock, his arms frozen at his sides. "Thank you," she repeated. "I know you didn't want to, but you made the right decision. It's alright."

"He's not... he's not dead?" the orange haired shinigami whispered, his voice choking as relief started to ease its way into his system. "I didn't kill him?"

"No Ichigo," she pulled him into a tighter embrace, her voice a comforting whisper against his ear, "you didn't kill him." Everyone it seemed was staring at the two with shocked faces, mouths having fallen open. Only Starrk and Urahara stared at the pair with knowing gazes, not seeming at all taken aback by the sudden show of affection by the older woman towards the young shinigami. "You did the right thing," she continued to soothe, "it's okay."

Isshin glanced from his son to Urahara, what was going on? But the blonde man wouldn't acknowledge him.

"Thank you," Ichigo breathed as a sigh escaped his body, his eyelids drooping with relief.

He hadn't killed Grimmjow. Grimmjow was alive.

Slowly withdrawing from the young man, Harribel cast him a smile, a softness encompassing her gaze as she stared into his brown eyes. He stared back, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

Why... why was she looking at him like that? Like he'd never done anything terrible in his life? Like she...

Stepping back, her green eyes turned away from him to once again focus on Urahara. Blinking slowly, his mind finally registered that the moment was over and he turned away as well, his gaze drifting to the ground, his mouth still hanging open.

"Who is this then?" Rukia asked curiously as she gestured to the bleeding corpse. "And if this isn't Grimmjow, am I correct in assuming that the Ulquiorra we encountered wasn't him either?" Now it made sense, why Starrk was able to so easily destroy the copycat. He'd known.

And the reason he'd looked pained? No one likes blowing off the head of someone that looks like a son you love.

"No," Urahara confirmed as the two hollow brothers cast each other confused glances. "Those were soulless bodies infused with the reiatsu of those two when they'd been hollow. They were something similar to gigai's only with copied personalities of those they were supposed to be representing."

"Who has the ability to do something like that?" Uryu asked in disgust.

"Szayel Aporro Granz does," a feminine voice stated as she approached the group. Again, numerous gapes of shock were greeted at her new appearance, and Renji was once again struck dumb. "Nnoitra mentioned something about him while we were fighting," Nel continued. "And as would be expected, he ran off before I had the chance to get more out of him."

"Hmm," Urahara seemed thoughtful. "It would probably be safe to assume then that he's also the one behind summoning the very powerful source causing the transformations in Hueco Mundo. Not that it matters really who's behind it."

"It would be just like him," Harribel added, apparently already aware of the current situation. All the Espada except for Grimmjow and Ulquiorra seemed very versed in the situation actually. "He wants nothing more than to be the perfect being, and he can't reach that point unless he finds a new power source." Urahara nodded and the group fell momentarily silent.

That is until Grimmjow let out a vicious growl.

"I don't care about any of that," he hissed and pointed accusingly at Harribel. "You've been lying to both me and Ulquiorra, what the hell is going on? How are..." hurt and betrayal flashed across his face momentarily. "Why have you gained so much power? How were you able to access your arrancar abilities again Harribel?"

"Yeah," Rukia turned to Urahara, apparently not noticing that the situation was a whole lot more delicate than just answers being given. This was something that Grimmjow was dealing with on an emotional level, as well as Ulquiorra. "You said you were making an army of beings similar to Ichigo right? So what exactly are they?"

"There's something you need to understand about the evolution of spirit beings," the blonde man started. "Being human is what gives Ichigo the advantage he has. There is an order to everything. Shinigami and hollow skip the crucial step of being human, which in the end leaves them at a disadvantage. In order to open all the spirit gates in ones soul, you have to go in order, otherwise things will cease to flow at one point or another." Most of the members in the group furrowed their eyebrows in confusion and Urahara sighed. "Ichigo is not a vizard," the orange haired shinigami raised a skeptical brow. "Like Harribel, Starrk, Nel, and Lilynette, he started at the beginning and is working his way to the top, unlike shinigami and hollow who cheat. He went about things the hard way.

"He started as a human, then entered the next step of becoming a shinigami and acquiring bankai. From there he went through hollowfication and was able to harness his mask. For our normal shinigami friends, this is as far as they can go. But because Ichigo started the system as a human and worked his way up from the weakest point, he has access to power beyond that, transforming into a complete hollow."

"You cannot deny that as you travel through the steps of becoming a shinigami," Harribel took over, "you become stronger with each step. This is the natural way of things. Because we followed the same steps as Ichigo, we were able to work our way up through all the steps to once again harness our arrancar powers. Only this time around, because we didn't skip any steps, we are far more powerful than before."

"How does... 'following the steps' give you more power than before?" this whole thing was very difficult for Renji to grasp.

"Because," Urahara tried again, "there is nothing clogging their systems. You shinigami are not human, you are missing a vital piece of the puzzle, thus you cannot exceed past vizards. Arrancar are as well, thus they cannot get past a first release..." Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at the blonde man, "usually."

"I don't give a fuck about this shit!" Grimmjow yelled, his anger having been building up through the entire explanation. "I don't care about these damn steps or any of this bullshit!" He turned back to Harribel, his face dropping into rejection and betrayal. The blonde woman turned away, she couldn't face him. "Why weren't Ulquiorra and I included in this?"

Science.

"God dammit Harribel!" he roared. "Give me a fucking answer!"

"Because you are not ready." Turning, the group was suddenly joined by another foray of spirit beings, a blonde one with a sharp bob of hair standing right in front of Grimmjow, his finger pointing at the man's chest.

"Shinji," Ichigo breathed as the vizards formed a half circle around the group.

"Neither of you are ready," the blonde man continued and Grimmjow growled.

"Not ready?" the blue haired teenager spat. "What the fuck does that mean? Not ready? I'm more than read for any-"

"No you're not," the ex-captain hissed dangerously. "Why do you think you should be granted this power Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?" The livid ex-hollow was about to interject, but was cut off as Shinji continued. "You are not responsible enough to understand the-"

"I am!"

"_Do not interrupt me you insolent fool!_" the vizard grabbed the blue haired teen by his shirt collar, pulling him forward until they were nose to nose. Blue eyes wide, Grimmjow stared at him in shock. "You know _nothing_ of the responsibilities of the kind of power you want!" Throwing him down, Grimmjow tripped backwards and fell onto his butt as he stared up at the blonde man. "You come from a world where power is given to you on a silver platter," Ichigo hadn't seen Shinji this mad since... since _he'd_ come to him for help. "Real power comes with a price, a price you can't pay.

"Do you know anything about the process Ichigo had to go through to reach the strength he has now? Or Harribel or Starrk? Huh? No, I didn't think so. You were a hollow, you lived in destruction, savored it, but you don't anymore. If you want to gain this power then you're going to have to face the hollow that's trapped inside of you." Grimmjow's eyes widened. "It can't escape now because you're a human, but if we let it loose...

...You wouldn't stand a chance against it."

"What are you talking about?" Grimmjow jumped to his feet angrily. "How can I have a hollow inside me, I _am_ a hollow!"

"No you're not!" Shinji yelled. "If you were then you'd have been killed by Ichigo a long time ago, as dead as that corpse because you'd be waltzing around the World of the Living causing destruction everywhere you went!" he pointed to the dead version of Grimmjow lying on the ground and the sixth paled. "Whether you like it or not you're a human now, but you haven't embraced your humanity enough to be able to fend off the destruction your hollow, your past, would bring on your soul."

The blonde man seemed to have finally caught the ex-hollows attention and he sighed.

"You think it was easy for your family members to get the power they did? It wasn't. Each of them had to find the strength to stand up to everything they had once been. You have not changed enough to face that. If we tried to vizard you right now, you'd be eaten alive. Not because you're weak physically, but mentally." Shinji narrowed his eyes at Grimmjow. "You would give in and agree with your hollow, thus he would consume you. And I will not knowingly create a monster."

Grimmjow gulped, his heart dropping into his stomach.

"I wouldn't," he tried to sound firm, but was failing.

"You wouldn't?" Shinji was skeptical. "Please Grimmjow. I know hollows like yours. You want to know why you and Ichigo hated each other so much?" Blue eyes met brown as the two teenagers exchanged a confused glance. "Because your hollow is just. Like. His." Ichigo flinched. "All they want is to destroy. Everything you are, everything you love, everyone you love... that is what your hollow wants Grimmjow, you know it just as well as I do. You lived it." Eyes drifting to the ground, Grimmjow considered the man's words, his blue orbs swimming in confusion. "The reason I refuse to go forward with training you is the exact same reason I refuse to go through with Ulquiorra's training. You would both fail miserably." The green eyed teenager felt his heart stop as the blonde man turned to him instead.

"Like your brother, you are still too weak to face your hollow," Ulquiorra's gaze drifted to the ground. "Your hollow is emptiness, and you would be lost in that emptiness. You are too afraid of it, of going back, to face it. You are running from it." Multiple gazes were thrown around the clearing, the situation becoming slightly uncomfortable. "This Woman, Orihime Inoue, is the only thing keeping you afloat... isn't she?" The vizards eyes softened with pity. "You fail to find salvation in yourself, so you depend in her instead to bring the sunlight to your darkness. Her affection for you is your pedestal, and without it you would crumble into nothing." The fourth couldn't say anything in his defense.

"There's something you need to understand about yourself Ulquiorra," the blonde continued. "Your hollows strength over you is very internal, it's all about bringing yourself down as opposed to others like Ichigo's or Grimmjow's... or the rest of your families. This makes you the weakest link, but also the strongest asset." His green eyes drifted up to meet the older mans. "Grimmjow can only destroy so much, Ichigo can only save as many souls as there are in the world, but you... you can fall into the endless depths of emptiness and fall forever, or sour into the endless heavens of the heart and find eternal salvation.

"You have the longest and most difficult journey, but if you find your way you will match even Ichigo in strength." Multiple gasps echoed around the clearing. "It is for this very same reason that you were the only Espada able to acquire a second release. You had fallen so far into emptiness and despair, your hollow was so powerful, that you were able to access that power in a very unhealthy manner, very much the opposite of how you must access it now... if you wish to do so.

"That is why you cannot be allowed to go through the transformation. Your heart is so weak, depends so much on Orihime, that without her you would plummet back to the depths of emptiness. You wonder why Orihime is so strong?" Ulquiorra's eyes widened. "Yes, I know you wonder about her, you don't understand her, and that is why you are drawn to her. She is strong because she refuses to be swallowed by the darkness, unlike you who merely gives into it and buries it. She can stand on her own, while you fall. She is your weakness and your greatest strength. You two are so much alike, yet complete opposites. And until you can learn to hold yourself up alone, to let go of the guilt that strangles your heart... you will never be able to face your past."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes. Curse this man for being able to read him so thoroughly.

"I don't understand," Grimmjow was gritting his teeth, obviously angry, but doing his best to try and contain it. "We're supposed to stand up to our hollows right? Beat them down, it doesn't sound too hard."

"You're missing the point Grimmjow," Shinji shook his head. "It's not that simple. Your hollow will keep coming after you unless you have a viable defense to keep it at bay. You can't simply fight it and expect it to do as you say. Hollow's pray on the most dominant, negative emotions that exist within us. Beating your hollow with violence _only_ will _only_ bring about _more_ violence, thus you would be devoured. Your hollow is destruction, so to subject yourself to that is being beaten before you've even started. Why do you fight Grimmjow? Why do you want power?"

"Why?" Grimmjow scoffed. "That's a stupid question! The answer is obvious!"

"Then tell me why."

"Because I want to be stronger, because I'm tired of being weak!"

"Why do you want to be stronger? What are you weak?" Grimmjow growled, what was up with these stupid questions? "I understand that you're tired of being human, you don't want to be on the sidelines and watch as others fight your battles, but in order to fight, you must find the reason why you fight, otherwise you are no different than your hollow. No different than a monster."

"So what," Harribel cast her son a sidelong glance disapprovingly. "So what if I'm exactly like I was before? That doesn't mean I shouldn't be-"

"Actually it does," Shinji's voice was dangerous, lethal. "You forget Grimmjow, _we_ decide who goes through hollowfication and who doesn't. Not only that, but you're overlooking one more crucial detail. You fail to see how you've changed since you became human. Yours used to destroy. If your hollow surfaces now, that's just what you'll do. You'll destroy anything and everything that gets in your way. Your family, your friends, you can't protect them when all you want to do is destroy them."

"I wouldn't-"

"You would!" Shinji took a step forward. "I'm tired of arguing with you over this you foolish child! I understand more about hollow behavior then you do and you were one of them! You think you have a logical mind now, you thought you did _then_, but you wouldn't have hesitated in killing anyone back then. You don't feel the change, but it's there. And if you face your hollow you will lose that, you will forget that Ulquiorra is your brother, that Harribel is your mother, that Lilynette is your little sister, that Ichigo is your friend! You will cease to care because only the bloodlust will register. You would kill them all if you had the chance, just so you could be king. You know it's the truth, so stop being so blind!"

"I wouldn't hurt them!" he shouted. "I would never-"

"Why?" Shinji approached the confused Espada. "Why wouldn't you hurt them Grimmjow? Why don't you want to hurt them?"

"What kind of a question is that!" he spat. "Because they're my family, because they're... they're..."

"What Grimmjow?" the blonde man shook his head. "Nel conquered her hollow because she was able to assure herself that no matter where she went, she wouldn't allow herself to be neglected, be forgotten. Starrk and Lilynette realized that so long as they had their families, so long as they put forth the effort to keep their friendships intact, they would never be alone.

"Harribel reasoned that sacrifices were not necessary because she would sacrifice herself before she would allow anyone else to suffer, because she cares too deeply about all of you. What is your defense Grimmjow? Why won't you let your family be destroyed?"

"I don't know!" He gripped his hair in his hands, pulling on the blue locks in frustration. "I don't know..."

Shinji sighed. "And that is why you are not ready."

**ooooooooooooooooooooo**

WOO! That was an intense chapter in more ways than one. Sorry no Ulquihime, but you action mongers may finally be happy. Hopefully, so long as I didn't completely bomb the entire thing, lol, but my brother liked it so (he got to read it before you guys…).

In any case, many things were cleared up this chapter, but there is STILL that sense of mystery around Harribel… what else is she hiding?

So I really liked Lilyette's entrance, personally, though that could just be because I could envision it better, I dunno. But what will Hitsugaya do now; he most certainly is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Hopefully he'll take Karin's advice from a few chapters back… or he'll tell Soul Society, who knows.

Contrary to what you may all think, Nel is actually one of my most favorite characters, so I'm glad she finally got some screen time. There's just not a whole lot of places for her otherwise, sorry. I liked her entrance too, I liked all the Espada's entrances really, Starrk's was pretty awesome too, lol.

Poor Ulquiorra got beat up again. He and Grimmjow just suck at life (get it, LIFE ha, yeah…). Too bad they're both too weak yet, but that only goes to show there's tons left to this story, so hope you're all looking forward to more.

I also hope you all understood the end. If not, all will be understood in due time.

AND the vizards showed up. I love Shinji, lol. They'll be getting more screen time in the future as well.

Oh, and I want to thank you all for the amazing responses to last chapter, I guess it must have been a good one. I hope you like this one just as much. I know I had a lot of fun writing it, all those action scenes were fun.

I also love/hate Nnoitra… so… Renji… and Nel… hmm, could have some potential, but probably not. Who knows? It was just a random thought as I wrote the story as I can never find anyone to pair Renji with.

Meh, anyway, love as always!

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE!


	16. Animals Heading South

**The Definition of Love**

_**"No**, we're **never gonna quit**  
Ain't nothing **wrong with it**  
Just acting like we're **animals**  
**No**, no matter where we go  
'Cause **everybody knows**  
We're just a **couple of animals**_

__

So come on baby, **get in**  
Get **in**, just **get in**  
Check out the **trouble we're in**

_You're beside me on the seat  
Got your **hand between my knees**  
And you **control** how **fast** we **go** by just how **hard** you wanna **squeeze**  
It's hard to **steer** when you're **breathing in my ear**  
But I got **both hands** on the wheel while you got **both hands** on **my gears**  
By now, no doubt that we were **heading south**  
I guess nobody ever taught her not to speak with a full mouth  
'Cause this was it, like **flicking on a switch**  
It **felt** so **good** I almost **drove into the ditch**  
I'm **screamin**'"_

**_Animals - Nickelback_**

**Chapter 16: Animals Heading South**

Glancing over, she frowned, her pencil held tightly between her fingers. He was worrying her, the way his frown kept deepening throughout the entire day. Even Grimmjow seemed out of sorts, he hadn't tried to pick a fight with Ichigo all morning. Instead their two Espada classmates were eerily silent. Ulquiorra was usually silent, but this... this was a suffocating kind of silence, as if the whole weight of the world were suspended on it.

It made her severally uncomfortable, but what could she do? They were sitting in the middle of a classroom; she couldn't very well try and ease the situation. Not that her boyfriend seemed very intent on allowing her to do so. As soon as the situation the Friday before had calmed and everyone had returned home, silence was all she had heard. She'd tried to call him, but every time she did Harribel had explained that he didn't want to talk to anyone. Thus the redhead had been worrying all weekend.

Even now, even when they were sitting right next to each other, he hadn't once looked at her. His green eyes were swimming, drowning, in his own thoughts.

She was extremely concerned.

**oOo**

"Will you stop doing that Orihime?" Tatsuki frowned at her best friend, the wind whistling lightly through her short hair. It was a cool autumn day, though not cold enough to drive the three girls indoors. Instead they sat under a large tree behind the school, their lunches slowly being consumed beneath the clouded sky.

"I can't help it," she pouted and sighed again, for the millionth time. Both Rukia and Tatsuki were exasperated with her. They understood why she was upset, but that didn't make it any less annoying. "I mean he hasn't said two words to me since Friday..."

"He's just trying to work through it," Rukia assured as she popped a small cookie into her mouth. "Everyone is on edge. Even Ichigo is quieter than usual." Tatsuki raised her eyebrows, seeing this as a prime time to change the subject. If they could just distract Orihime for a little while...

"So, speaking of Ichigo," the karate champion started, "how are you two doing these days?" Rukia rolled her eyes. "That bad huh?" Tatsuki laughed and even their redheaded counterpart snuck in a small smile.

"It's not bad," the shinigami clarified. "He's just so... well he's inexperienced." They _all_ laughed a little at this and the small woman continued. "I'm just so used to the arrogant, cocky idiot that he is most of the time that when he's all... shy and embarrassed it's a little annoying. I know he'll become that arrogant ass we all know and love once he gets the hang of things, but..." She shrugged.

"Sounds like Rukia likes it rough," Tatsuki teased and the shinigami gave her a less than enthused look.

"Says the girl who has a crush on the most out of control animal of them all," now it was Tatsuki's turn to give the short woman an offended look. "Please, you know it's true. He's more of an ass than Ichigo is."

"Well..." Tatsuki turned a light shade of red, "it's kind of... attractive..." Orihime raised her eyebrows skeptically and her best friend could only shrug her shoulders in defense. "It's not my fault! There's just something about him that's..."

"Dangerous?" Orihime offered and the karate champion turned yet another shade redder. "I always knew you were drawn to the bad boy type. You've been friends with Ichigo forever and have never looked twice at any other guy besides."

"Well better that then a complete bore," she shot back and her best friend frowned, offended. "Sorry Orihime," she sighed. "I'm just not... used to this kind of girl talk." Shrugging, her best friend recovered quickly, a small smile finding its way onto her lips.

"For the record," she started as she glanced up at them from beneath her eyelashes, "Ulquiorra isn't exactly as unemotional as you all think. In fact when we're, you know, being 'close,' he can get pretty... well you know..."

"Maybe it's a guy thing," the karate champion argued as she leaned back, her hands planted in the grass for support. "Maybe no matter how they act on the outside, there's that animal lurking around their subconscious. Some are just more apt to express it than others... like Grimmjow."

"That's _not_ true," Rukia clarified with a laugh. "Let me tell you, there are some guys who have it and some who don't. Brainwashing yourselves into believing there's a passion filled beast in every guy will only lead you to a world of disappointment." The other two frowned. "I honestly don't think them being male has anything to do with it," she paused, "I mean, granted Ichigo isn't exactly a veteran but, well, like I said, once he gets the hang of things he _really_ gets the hang of things."

"That's a little too much information," Tatsuki paled.

"Maybe it has something to do with them being hollows, or having been hollows, or being part hollow..." they turned their attention to their redheaded counterpart, looks of curiosity on their faces. "Well I mean think about it. Hollow are supposed to be the most... carnal part of any soul right? So why shouldn't that affect them...?"

"Are you saying that having an _actual_ monster inside them influences their sexual prowess?" Tatsuki wasn't buying it.

"Well no," Orihime frowned, "not exactly."

"I get what you're saying Orihime," Rukia added. "Hollow's are passion driven creatures. They're feral, possessive, animalistic. It's only common sense that some of those attributes would transfer to their actual lives."

"So basically what you're saying is that," Tatsuki laughed, "that all Espada, or the like, would be really good in the sack." Orihime's hand flew to her mouth in dismay, her eyes wide at her best friend's rather vulgar reference to, well... things... "Please Orihime; you're not nearly as innocent as you act." The redhead blushed, but didn't object to the accusation.

"I guess that's one way of looking at it," Rukia laughed and smiled mischievously as she glanced at Orihime. "I suppose the two of us should consider ourselves lucky." The redhead only flushed again, her hair hanging in front of her face. Rukia frowned. "It's too bad that both Ulquiorra and Grimmjow are so depressed though..."

"I know," Orihime sighed. "I can't think of anything that would cheer him up either..." Tatsuki was still smiling deviously and the two glanced at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Oh c'mon guys, we were just talking about it," she rolled her eyes. "It's not going to solve his problem, but a little bit of fun goes a long way sometimes." Orihime was blushing again and Rukia laughed.

"She's got a point," the shinigami shrugged.

"Well maybe..." the orange haired girl was thoughtful despite her embarrassment. "But how would I go about doing that? I mean, every other time we... do stuff, it's not really pre-thought out or anything."

"Just go up to him, grab him by the shirt collar, and drag him under a table before-"

"_Rukia_!"

"What?" the older woman raised her hands defensively. "I'm over a hundred years old; sometimes you just have to keep things interesting!" Both Tatsuki and Orihime burst out laughing. "I'm serious!" she proclaimed. "Now go Orihime!"

The redhead's giggling was cut off rather abruptly.

"Wait, now?" Tatsuki smothered her laughter as her best friend paled. "Rukia, we're in school and-"

"Yeah, so?" the shinigami stood and grabbed the redhead by the arm before hefting her to her feet. "That will make it ten times more exciting. He said he was going to the library to 'work' or whatever right? So go and... find a nice dusty corner." Orihime gaped.

"Rukia, I-"

"Go _on_," Rukia urged as she shoved the shocked girl towards the school, "don't be afraid, confidence is key." Mouth moving up and down like a fish, the taller girl stumbled towards the school's entrance, her gaze going between her two friends and the building. Rukia kept urging her on however and it wasn't long before she had disappeared.

Rukia and Tatsuki burst out in hysterical laughter.

**oOo**

"Rukia said confidence is key," she peeked around the bookshelf once again, not at all surprised to see her significant other in the exact same spot as he was before. Sitting alone at a table, he was reading a book and successfully ignoring the world. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the redhead calmed her nerves. "I can do this," she whispered to herself encouragingly. She didn't quite know why she was so nervous, they made out on a regular basis, but for some reason this time if felt different. Maybe it was because she already knew what was going to happen, or because she was purposefully breaking school rules on school property.

In any case, she was anxious and, well, a little bit giddy as well.

Stepping out from behind the bookshelf, she took purposeful steps towards her green eyed target, her hands held behind her back.

"You're not working," she accused as she placed herself next to him. He didn't jump at her sudden appearance, just glanced up at her with that ever so prominent frown. "You're just reading, that's not working for you."

"I finished already," he stated monotonously. She scrunched her face into a disbelieving frown and he sighed. "What is it that you want Woman?" He seemed exasperated and she felt her heart sinking.

"You don't want to see me... do you?" this would never work if he didn't even want anything to do with her. "If you don't then I'll leave, I was just... you haven't said anything to me all day..." His posture dropped and his gaze softened as he stared up at her.

"I did not mean to give you that kind of impression," he clarified. "I just... have a lot on my mind." She knew that, and that was why she was here. To get his mind _off_ those things. She blushed at the thought and he furrowed his brows at her.

"I see..." she muttered, her gaze drifting to the tabletop as she nervously toed the carpet. They were silent for a few moments; Orihime somehow trying to find the guts to "drag him under a table" while her boyfriend contemplated her odd behavior. Being as curious as he always was, it didn't take him long to question her.

"Are you alright Woman?" he narrowed his eyes at her. "You are acting very-"

"Ulquiorra," she interrupted with a determined huff, "get up." He cocked his head to the side in confusion, but, upon glancing up at the clock, the redhead had realized they only had fifteen minutes before class started. It was now or never.

"Wh-"

Grabbing him by the sleeve, she pulled him to his feet and began walking back towards the shelves of books. He stumbled after her, his eyes wide at her assertive behavior. She never ceased to surprise him. Multiple times before had he witnessed this bossier side to her personality, and every time it caught him off guard.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he gained his footing once again. She didn't answer him; instead she was looking around the rows of books as they passed them by, searching for something. Pausing in her expedition, Ulquiorra collided with her back. But it was only seconds and they were on their way once again.

Whipping down an aisle, she seemed very intent on their destination. They were currently in the biography section of the books, a place people rarely visited. It was near the back of the room as well, and again Ulquiorra was struck with questions about what she was doing.

With a huffing halt, she stopped abruptly and turned back to face him. Releasing his hand, she took a deep breath and shoved him forcefully against the book shelf. Luckily they were bolted into the ground; else it probably would have toppled over.

Eyes wide, Ulquiorra was about to once again ask about her odd behavior when she pressed her soft lips into his. Her touch stifled his questions, quickly eliminating them altogether. It didn't take him long to get the message of course and within seconds he was gripping the fabric stretched across her back, his own mouth enveloping hers lustily.

Orihime considered her options. They didn't have much time thus this little escapade was going to have to keep moving along. She'd never felt rushed into or out of an intimate situation before, but she didn't have much of a choice this time around. Did she have a purpose, a goal, to aim for? If she was going to cheer him up then she felt as though she should.

Something unexpected perhaps...

Leaning into him, she unconsciously moaned into his mouth, her hands gripping at the front of his shirt desperately as he pulled needfully at her bottom lip with his teeth. She could feel his breathing becoming less controlled with each second that passed, his hands gripping at her uniform as though he wanted to rip it from her body entirely.

That would not be a good option Orihime realized. She didn't need to be shedding any clothes in the middle of the library.

Grabbing his wrist, she ushered his hand to the rim of her sweater, his fingertips brushing the skin underneath. She trembled, and as his hand slipped beneath the fabric, she pressed her body closer to his.

He could feel the haste at which she was moving and in response he did his best to keep up. He didn't have a clue what they were supposed to be aiming for, and in all honesty he didn't care. Currently all his brain was able to process was the fact that he had slipped his hand under her bra, her aroused breast pressing into his palm.

Gasping as his cold hand cupped her flesh, Orihime was momentarily blindsided, the fact that their time was dwindling nearly slipping from her mind. No, she had to remain focused. This was about him after all, not her. He could grope her all he wanted. She in tern needed to return the favor.

Leaning up to meet his insistent lips, she deepened the contact, her tongue running along the bottoms of his teeth. He growled into her mouth, his free hand pulling her as close to him as humanly possible. And as her leg brushed the growing bulge in his pants, he gasped, his eyes opening only momentarily as a shockwave shot up his spine.

Reveling in his reaction to her touch, the redhead repeated the action, more forcefully however. Moaning, his lips separated from hers as he commenced in burying his face in her hair, her tantalizing scent filling his nostrils with ecstasy.

Breathing in his own sharp scent, she leaned her head into the crook of his neck, her hands drifting lower as he continued to nip at her ear, his hand still placed firmly on her breast as he tightened his grip on her. Slipping her own dancing fingers beneath his shirt, he hissed as his steaming flesh warmed her freezing digits. She had no intention of exploring what lay beneath his sweater however; she didn't have the time for that.

For what felt like the hundredth time since that fateful day his dog had shown up at her feet, her body took over instead of her head. All nervousness vanished and with quick fingers, she harnessed the zipper sealing away his incessant need.

She felt him tense against her as she pulled the metal contraption lower, his hands freezing in their exploration of her body. He didn't pull away from her, but by the way he was holding his breath she could tell he was anticipating every action she took.

Releasing the zipper, she dragged her fingers back up to the button. It was straining against the bulge behind, and as she released the tension, the two ends snapped apart. He hissed against her neck, his hips jolting forward as the openness of the outside air chilled the most sensitive parts of his male body.

"_Woman_," he whispered against her neck, his lips moving like wisps against her skin.

Even though she had no idea what she was doing, she knew she had to act quickly. The bell would ring soon. But as this thought entered her brain, so did numerous others. What if someone spotted them, what if they were caught? She could only imagine the reprimanding they would get, or even risk suspension.

Her brain couldn't concentrate on both her actions and the repercussions such actions could induce. Instead she found her once confident hands fumbling with the rim of his boxers, her body telling her to do one thing while her brain issued that she consider another. She had to think back, remember why she had gone this far to begin with. It wasn't that she was afraid to commence in the action itself, she trusted him with more than her life thus she was not afraid of him or anything to do with him, but the logical side of her conciseness was getting the better of her. She'd tried to remain focused for his sake and instead had become _too_ focused.

His chest shuddered against her, his warm breath splashing across her ear and neck as he released a pained groan. She had come so far, why couldn't she just...

His actions were hasty though not sloppy. When he wanted something done he was going to get it _done_. Releasing her breast, his arm fell out from her shirt. With one swift movement he had grasped one of her fumbling hands in his own, their fingers intertwining tightly. Her heart thudded in her chest as his lips travelled around to once again meet her own, his tongue commencing to battle hers as sweat caused his hair to stick to his face.

Yet even as his mouth caused _her_ distraction, it gave him no pause. Delving between his boxers and his steaming, pulsing, _shuddering_ body, she took in a quick breath, her heart punching into her throat as he wrapped her hand around his aroused manhood.

He in turn jerked his pelvis into her thigh, his free hand pressuring her body into his. And with adamant throbs, he ran her hand along his engorged length, his breath catching as he was forced to stop his devouring of her mouth in favor of merely pressing his nose to her cheek, his distress all the more obvious with each labored intake of air he took.

Back and forth he led her, and she placed passion driven kisses along his pale, trembling neck. Faster he pushed her, and with a gulping groan, leaned his head back against the bookshelf, his chest heaving up and down laboriously as his green eyes popped open, wide. Hair sticking to his face in sweaty strips, his Woman watched with piercing grey eyes as his mouth formed a pleasure driven grimace, his cheeks flushing a dangerous shade of scarlet.

She honestly couldn't take her eyes off him, the way his face contorted in pleasure and agony, the way his lungs drew in breath after breath, it was beautiful. To see such emotion cross his normally empty facade... He was completely open, every shudder, every thrust of her hand, every throbbing fire that flew through him, it was all suddenly painted across his lips, his eyes, his cheeks.

Tightening her grip on him, his mouth fell open slightly, his eyes squeezing shut as a strangled moan escaped his mouth. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his throat, his pulse pumping fast and hard against her orifice. Hips jutting backwards and forwards with what was now her rhythm, he unconsciously thrust into her, his arousal all the more heightened by the barrier she created against his freedom.

His movements became more erratic, the control he had exhibited previously having faded into nothing more than animalistic drive. Growling from the very pit of his stomach, he thrust against her more fiercely, over and over again, before a strangled gasp shot out of his throat, both his hands leaving her form to grip the shelves behind him for support.

And as simply as that his once tense and jerking form had collapsed into a shaking mess of panting and sweat.

Removing her own trembling hand from his boxers, she ignored the wetness streaking his perfect body and focused on buttoning his pants instead. Succeeding in this endeavor, she zipped him up as well before leaning up to his flushed face, glad that no obvious signs of their foray were left around the area of the crime. Finding herself calming, she pressed her lips gently to his sweating cheek, his damp hair brushing her nose.

He sighed in response, his head turning until his own nose was pressed into her temple, his hands holding tight the bookshelf as he struggled to regain some semblance of control. She smiled against him at his failed attempts, her own panting in sync with his as he trailed his lips down her face.

"That was the bell," he whispered, almost too silently for her to hear. She let loose a short giggle, her red hair tickling his lips as she shook against him.

"We should probably get going then," she replied. He closed his eyes again in response and nodded shortly, the only reply he could manage to give her in his frazzled state.

**oOo**

"Ulquiorra, Orihime, you're late," their teacher gave them what she called "the eye" as the two out of breath teenagers rushed into the room.

"Sorry," the redhead squeaked as they brushed past her to their seats. She felt the redness rising to her cheeks as she aimed for her chair. All her friends were giving them strange looks as they passed and she knew it wouldn't take much for them to figure out what the two tardy students had been up to. If their red faces and shaking bodies weren't hint enough, she was pretty sure they smelled of the act if nothing else.

Mentally kicking herself, she cursed what had not been a fool proof plan. She should have factored in enough time for them to get cleaned up. Instead they'd run straight from the library to class, sweaty and disheveled. Ulquiorra looked worse than she, his hair was still in disarray and sticking to his face, his pants wrinkled in places they shouldn't be. Orihime only had to worry about keeping her legs together for fear of revealing her own arousal.

Both Rukia and Tatsuki were staring at them with wide eyes, their amusement blatant as they strained against releasing hysterical laughter. Grimmjow was shying away from his brother with furrowed brows, and Ichigo held his mouth agape a he stared back at them. Uryu looked like he was going to burst with anger, a smile was slowly spreading across Renji's face, and Chad had raised a single eyebrow in their direction.

Orihime felt more heat rush to her cheeks.

"Would one of you mind explaining to me why it is you were late?" their teacher had placed her hands on her hips and was staring expectantly at them, a small smirk pulling at one corner of her lips. Ulquiorra cast his girlfriend a sideways glance and she pursed her lips.

Scratching the back of her head, she diverted her gaze to her desk. "Um, well... you see... uh," what was she supposed to say? "I would really... rather not... ma'am..." Her voice had dwindled to a mutter and Rukia was forced to cover her mouth as a giggle erupted from her. Tatsuki followed suit and thus an echo started across the class. Grimmjow gaped, finally realizing what was going on, and he was quickly followed by Ichigo who was blushing in embarrassment for the two individuals. Uryu turned angrily around in his seat, his hands made into fists on his desk.

"Really?" their teacher appeared extremely amused as well, a light smile gracing her normally hard features. More students laughed. "Well that's very interesting. Fine, have it your way." Turning to the board, she started writing with some half used chalk. "If everyone would open their books to page two-o-three, we will discuss what you were supposed to work on over the weekend."

Reaching instinctively for his bag, the fourths eyes widened when he realized it was gone. Looking down, he saw nothing dropped on the floor next to him. He was completely void of all his supplies.

"Shit," his curse was only audible to those around him, but their teacher had turned to stare at the two late comers once again, a single one of her eyebrows raised.

"Problems Cifer?" Green eyes slowly coming up to meet hers, he felt redness envelope his already flushed features. Normally this kind of thing wouldn't affect him, but in his current state he couldn't stop anything from showing on his face. Grimmjow's shaking body, he was laughing behind hands clamped over his mouth, wasn't helping either.

"I forgot my book," he stated _just_ loud enough for their instructor to hear.

"Well come get an extra one then," the terrible woman sighed as she picked a single volume up off the floor next to her desk. Clicking his tongue in irritation, the fourth hefted his body from his chair and made his way to the front of the room. But as he went to retrieve the book from her grasp, she pulled it back. "Tell me," she started, "where _is_ your book?"

He could feel an angry vein popping in the back if his head.

"In my bag," he stated tightly.

"And... where is your bag?"

He sighed.

"In the library... ma'am." Grimmjow guffawed once behind him and the rest of the class was thrown into a fit of giggles once again. He slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Curious," she stated and finally handed him the book. "Well I hope you're able to retrieve that after school." She turned back to the board as he quickly made his way back to his seat. "Perhaps Inoue could help you," she added as a finality and the class started laughing yet again.

Nostrils flaring angrily, Ulquiorra did his best to open the book without appearing too violent.

Orihime on the other hand held hers up in front of her face, her pouting lips hardly hidden despite how she wished they were.

**oOo**

"What are you staring at?" glancing back momentarily, the blue haired teenager frowned, the bags under his eyes all the more accented by his long face as he pondered her question.

"Nothing," he stated and turned away from her, the sunset casting an orange glare across the heavens. The warm lighting created a stark contrast to his own cool appearance, doing little good to hide his distress. Like some frozen ice statue, he had ignored them all day.

"You seem pretty focused on something to me," leaning forward, the black haired karate champion pushed her elbows onto the walls edge, her face turned to stare up at her taller counterpart. They were merely standing next to the river that ran through Karakura near the school; the stone bridge their current resting place.

"Maybe," he replied without even looking at her. She in turn held back a growl. She knew she needed to be patient. He had, after all, just suffered a rather traumatic experience. Still, this sulkiness he exuded was... beyond irritating.

It reminded her of... it reminded her of Ichigo. The way he would completely close off and forsake the rest of them in favor of submerging himself in his problems. And there was only one person that could pull the orange haired shinigami out of those fazes. Her name was Rukia Kuchiki.

Who did Grimmjow have?

Maybe no one. Yet if he was at all similar to Ichigo, he needed someone like Rukia. Someone to kick him around, piss him off enough, to jolt him from his depression.

Tatsuki wasn't sure she was up to the task in all honesty.

"Maybe?" she asked with raised eyebrows. "What does that mean?" His blue eyes flicked over to her momentarily, his frown growing tight at the corners with irritation. "You can't honestly tell me that you're just staring out at the sunset not thinking of anything."

"I don't have to 'honestly' tell you anything," he retorted testily, though even his smart ass remark lacked its normal fire. "What do you want anyway?" he sounded tired and exasperated. Sighing, the dark haired girl decided that perhaps exercising patience wasn't the best approach. She wasn't good at it first off, and, well, he needed a good kick to get him moving again, or so she hoped.

Again she found herself thinking of Rukia and Ichigo.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" she shook her head and had to hold back a smile when he whipped his head around to face her, his blue eyes narrowed in obvious offense. "All you've been doing all day is sulking and moping around school like some kind of slug." He pursed his lips. "And here I thought you were supposed to be some bad ass hollow, yet all you can do is... is cry like a big baby."

"I haven't cried," he defended lamely, looking about to continue arguing, but the anger faded quickly, as if he didn't have the energy to keep it stoked. Huffing, he returned his gaze to the sky. "It's none of your business anyway."

She leaned back, her arms stretching as she propelled herself from the wall.

"I'm disappointed," she scoffed. "I thought I'd finally found someone more hard headed and stubborn than Ichigo, but maybe that's impossible. You can't live up to him at all." Again he turned to her, his nostrils flaring angrily. "You're nothing but a fake." Casting him one final look, she turned to leave, her school uniform blowing in the wind.

"What do you even know?" his question came out as a snapping growl and she turned back to him with skeptical brows. "You can't even begin to imagine anything in my life, so don't come walking in acting like-"

"You're right," she interrupted and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't imagine anything in your life, and in all honesty I don't want to. You're thinking about your past enough for the both of us." He glared. "And that's what's so pathetic. You're so focused on what you were that you can't figure out what you want to be. I understand why you're so down on yourself, I wouldn't be able to stand myself either if I was you."

"You're a bitch, you know that?" he snarled and she did her best to refrain from punching him square in the face.

"And you're an asshole."

"What do you even want? I hardly even know you and-"

"What do I want?" she took a step forward threateningly. "I want you to stop being an idiot. I don't care how well I know you or not, the fact is that you have the potential to get stronger and you're too busy thinking about how useless you are instead doing something about that very problem. If you had half the nerve that Ichigo does you'd be trying to figure out what it is you can fight your hollow with instead of wallowing around like some homesick child. It's beyond pathetic, and I'm ashamed to be affiliated with anyone like that. You disgust me."

"How do you know what I'm thinking about?" he exclaimed, his temper bursting forth. "How do you know I'm not trying to do some-"

"It's obvious!" she retorted just as loudly. "If you were serious about doing something about your situation you would have gone straight to Ichigo. You heard what Urahara said, you're hollow is just like his, so who better to talk to then him? Yet you'd rather just sit and rot. That proves that you're doing nothing." She shook her head. "Or maybe it's your pride." His eyes flashed and she smirked. "You're too ashamed to go to Ichigo, you'd rather be useless than ask him for help?"

"No!"

"Then what is it Grimmjow?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of he'll reject you? Are you afraid of the humiliation? Or are you just afraid of failing?" Again his eyes flashed. "You're afraid you'll be devoured by your hollow, that it will in turn destroy everything you hold dear. That's what it is, isn't it?"

"Shut up," he growled.

"You're terrified of it."

"I said shut up!" he took a step towards her threateningly, his overly large canines visible as he glared death into her. "I didn't ask for your opinion! You don't even know what you're talking about! How could you possibly even comprehend the danger I'd put everyone in if I tried to get my powers back. You heard those vizards, what if I went after my family?"

"Then don't," she stated simply, as if it were that easy. Her arrogance enraged him. "If you want to stop your hollow from destroying your family then don't let it. It's that easy Grimmjow. Why is it that you won't let your family be harmed?" He had no answer, just as he had had no answer when Shinji had posed the very same question. She sighed. "Isn't it because you want to protect them?"

He scoffed and turned away from her, slamming his arms back down on the stone bridge.

"How am I supposed to do that? I can't do anything," he shook his head bitterly. "They're protecting _me_ half the time." The dark haired girl sighed and also reclaimed her area on the bridge. It was obvious that the blue haired teen didn't appreciate her company, but she didn't care.

"I want to tell you something," she started and he glanced over at her sourly. "Something about Ichigo." He rolled his eyes. "Remember that time at lunch when I said that he used to be a huge crybaby? That I used to beat him up every week at the Dojo?" This topic seemed to perk the sixths curiosity. "Well that all changed after one day." She shook her head sadly. "He was never the same. Something in him changed, maybe for the worse or for the better, but he hasn't cried a single tear since." She smiled up at the blue haired man. "Ichigo's mother was killed by a hollow that day. She was protecting him. I think that's why he blames himself for it, why he devotes his entire existence to protecting others. He lost something beyond value and he doesn't want anyone else to feel that pain.

"Ichigo wants to create a world where no one but himself has to fight, where he can feel everyone's pain for them. That's why he's obsessed with becoming stronger, why he's able to keep fighting. I suppose that logic is what allows him to fight his hollow too; he wants to protect as many people as he can so no one, like his mother, feels they have to sacrifice themselves for anyone else." She glanced back out at the water.

"What does this have to do with me?" he asked testily though his face has softened slightly. "I don't care about some sob story of Ichigo's. So his mom died, big deal. The fuck am I supposed to do about it?"

Tatsuki growled. "You're an idiot," she grumbled and they both fell silent momentarily before the female of the two commenced in speech once again. "So are you going to talk to Ichigo?" She didn't receive a reply, though that in itself seemed to be answer enough. Again there was a silence between them.

"Why are you still here?" he asked suddenly and glanced down at her. She looked about to rebuke with a rather uncouth insult, but held her tongue. Instead she grabbed the taller man by the shirt sleeve and turned to head down the street.

"C'mon," she droned. "Shinji said you weren't human enough, right?" She started walking and was slightly surprised when he followed willingly. "I'll show you a few things we humans do to have fun, maybe that can help you a little."

"Like what?" he dragged along behind her, his feet scraping the ground as his lazy posture failed to hold him up. "I hope this isn't one of those bullshit self-discovery, hippie things because I'm not-"

"Shut up Grimmjow."

**oOo**

"So it was a date?" Orihime cocked her head to the side as she shoved a spoonful of vanilla ice-cream sprinkled with numerous toppings into her mouth. She was curled up on her couch in a heavy blanket clad in her normal sleeping attire.

"Not exactly," her best friend sighed. Tatsuki was in much the same state only she had plain chocolate ice-cream instead of vanilla. "It was more like I just dragged him around town and made him try new things. Mostly I just wanted him to get his mind off of, well, everything. I don't think it worked though."

The redhead frowned. "I don't know what to say to them," she pouted. "I mean that… episode at school helped at the time, but Ulquiorra's still distant. I hope he doesn't blame me for…"

"I don't think so," Tatsuki frowned. "Just give him some space Orihime, he'll come around. He's got a lot on his mind. And you said it yourself he didn't hesitate to agree to come out with us this weekend. He's probably just still recovering from the shock is all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"Besides," the dark haired girl grinned, "they'll have tons of fun this weekend with us. We have to get costumes and it's probably their first Halloween. We can make them try on tons to make up for everything they've missed."

"I'm still surprised Grimmjow said he'd go when you asked him," Orihime shoved another spoonful of ice-cream into her mouth. "Do you think he likes you?"

"I don't know," the other girl sighed. "I mean he knows I like him, but he hasn't even said anything about it. Granted he has a lot on his mind, but still..."

"You could always make the first move," the redhead added. "That's what I had to do with Ulquiorra."

"Maybe," the other agreed. "Well anyway, back to this weekend. So what were you thinking about being for Halloween?"

**oOo**

"So this 'Holloween' is a holiday?" the blue haired man cocked an eyebrow questioningly as the four made their way into a highly festive building decorated in oranges, purples, and blacks. "And you all dress up and go around getting candy from strangers?" Orihime nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds fucked up to me."

"Sounds dangerous to me," Ulquiorra added.

"It's not dangerous!" his Woman defended. "Halloween is the best holiday ever!" Tatsuki smirked as the boys glanced around the costume store, obvious looks of skepticism spreading across their faces. "And dressing up is the best part! We're going to find you guys some great costumes for Mizuiro's party."

"What kinds of things do you dress up as?" green eyes darting around the area, the fourth could already tell this was going to be a painful experience.

"Well... anything really," the redhead explained as they started down the first aisle of the store. "Though scary costumes are the more popular ones." She frowned, "I don't like those ones though. I like the ones that are more like-"

"Like this?" Grimmjow had pulled a single garment from the rack. In consisted of only a small leather bikini, fishnets, and a whip. He was grinning. "Cuz I'd love to see you in this Pet." Ulquiorra looked as though he wanted to wring his brother's neck.

His Woman frowned. "No," she sighed. "Those ones never fit me." Everyone could gather what she meant. Were she to put on the costume, she would no doubt bust out of the top completely. Ulquiorra was glad personally, he would prefer the redhead not walk around in something like that, not in public at least. Not in front of anyone other than himself...

The sixth glanced at Tatsuki with raised eyebrows, still holding the costume, but the dark haired girl merely crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips. Answer enough it seemed and with a sigh the sixth replaced the garment.

And with a suddenness quite unexpected, Orihime sucked in her breath and hissed her best friends name. "Come with me," she continued as she dragged her friend away by the sleeve. "I need to talk to Tatsuki alone for a minute so you guys just look for some good costumes." And with that the redhead pulled her best friend into the next row over.

"What are you doing Orihime?" the dark haired girl questioned with furrowed eyebrows. "I just had the best idea," she started quietly, apparently very excited as she clapped her hands together. "It's sure to get Grimmjow's attention." Tatsuki raised a single eyebrow. "Well, I mean, you know what type of guy he is," Tatsuki narrowed her eyes, "and you have a great body so..."

"What exactly are you getting at?" the dark haired girl deadpanned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm saying that if you want him to really notice you, maybe you should try on one of those costumes." The karate champion gaped, apparently disgusted with what her friend was insinuating she lower herself too. "C'mon Tatsuki," the redhead continued, "it will work! Use your feminine wiles to woo him."

"Okay, first off," the shorter of the two held up a single finger, "I don't have any feminine wiles." Orihime sighed. "Second off, there is _no way_," she shook her head, "that I would ever degrade myself to wearing something like that. Half those costumes cover less than underwear."

"Exactly!" Orihime insisted as she turned and started filing through the racks of costumes. "He'll be so floored when he sees you," her best friend seemed about to object once again. "Besides," she had grabbed two garments from the rack as she spun to face her friend again, "it's not like you have to actually buy it. Just try it on and then casually ask him what he thinks. It'll be fun, I promise." Grabbing the terrified girl by the hand, the redhead started dragging her back over towards the men. "Hey!" she waved to them quickly, "we're going to go try these on, you guys just keep looking. We'll come ask for your opinions in a minute." And with that the two women rushed into a single dressing room.

"Orihime, I don't want to," the dark haired girl hissed as she stared wide eyed at the small pleather number her best friend had pulled out before her. Her complexion had paled and she gulped. She had a hard enough time wearing a skirt to school...

"Tatsuki," the redhead stared her best friend straight in the eyes, "trust me, this will work. He'll be drooling uncontrollably. Just put it on, okay? If you really hate it then you don't even have to leave the dressing room, alright?" Apparently defeated, the karate champion retrieved the garment from her best friend's waiting paws. Together they changed into the costumes, Tatsuki's unease growing and growing as she slowly slipped the number onto her body.

"Orihime..." she was staring at herself in the mirror, her cheeks beyond red, "this isn't a costume, this is... pleather lingerie." Glancing her friend up and down, the redhead had to ultimately agree. Even wearing a swimsuit the dark haired girl revealed less than this "costume" did. It was a black one-piece, the top a tight fitting corset with a built in push-up bra. The upper edge was laced in fuzzy trim and thus it ended, no straps. The bottom was what some would characterize as black underwear, though it was a little too high fitting in the back. It came with a pair of elbow high black gloved and a pair of fishnets as well, but seeing as Tatsuki had no intention of buying the terrible ensemble, she hadn't put them on.

"You pull it off well," her friend assured with a shrug from behind her dog suit. The dark haired female was eternally jealous of the costume her best friend had picked out for herself. It covered her from head to toe in a baggy, fuzzy puppy costume, long ears draping around her neck. "And look, now it's a costume," the redhead slapped a pair of cat eats onto her best friend's head and clipped the long black tail onto the back.

Tatsuki narrowed her eyes at her.

"No," she stated plainly. "There is no way I would wear this anywhere for anyone Orihime." She turned and stretched her head around so she could see her back in the mirror. She frowned. "My butt is hanging out of this damn thing, there's no way anyone needs to see me in this kind of undress."

Orihime was determined.

"What are you talking about?" the redhead feigned not understanding the points her best friend was making. "It looks fine. C'mon, let's go see what the guys think." Grabbing Tatsuki by the arm, Orihime began to forcefully drag the wide eyed girl from the small room. Tatsuki tried to fight her, but Orihime was much stronger than she looked.

It didn't help that somewhere deep down in the farthest reaches of her soul, buried and beyond even her own recognition, she wanted just as much as Orihime to see Grimmjow's stricken face. This unconscious decision hindered her abilities to fight her best friend too much.

"Orihime, stop!" she hissed as she was thrown out into the openness of the costume store. Thankfully, as it was rather early in the morning on a Sunday, there weren't that many people around, so only a few onlookers snickered as she vainly attempted to cover herself when the cool air of the large store sent shivers up her exposed body. "I'm serious Orihime, I'm not-"

"Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, come tell us what you think of our costumes!" her redheaded friend shouted over the soft music floating around the store. Again a few onlookers laughed to themselves, but said nothing as Tatsuki froze wide eyed and waiting.

It didn't take long for the two males to appear from a few of the perpendicular aisles.

Ulquiorra's green eyes completely ignored Tatsuki as he gazed at them from a nearby row. His focus was entirely on his girlfriend, and he looked just as unenthused as usual. Grimmjow was a ways down from them and Tatsuki didn't dare look at him.

"That costume is highly unconvincing," he stated and Orihime frowned.

"What do you mean?" she whined as she clapped her now pawed hands together. "I thought it was cute. It's not like I'm trying to look like a _real_ dog, just a representation!" The fourth shrugged and turned to head back down the aisle he had come from. Huffing poutingly, the redhead dashed after him, going on about how he hadn't even picked out a single costume yet so he had no right to insult her own taste.

Finally finding the gull to glance up at the blue haired teenager, Tatsuki met his azure eyes and was surprised to find him hunkering his way towards her with a determined look on his face. Despite the distance he had to cover to reach her, she couldn't find the motivation to dash back into the dressing room before he reached her.

Grabbing her by the arm, he didn't even stop walking as he spun her around and dragged her back towards the dressing rooms. She didn't have time to get offended by his rough handling of her before he tossed her into the room she and Orihime had recently vacated, her light body hitting the wall with a soft thud.

He followed her in, the swinging door slamming closed behind him as he latched the simple lock. Thus they were closed in the room together.

With a vengeance his victim was not expecting, the sixth grabbed the shocked female by the waist, shoved her further into the wall, and pressed his lips sloppily to her own. With a squeak, the karate champion froze under the contact, her brain slowly processing all his actions up to that very point. Her body was quicker to the draw however and despite her mental confusion of the situation, she found her own lips quickly catching up with his.

Closing her eyes, she took in a quick breath as his hands sidled up her ribcage, his intentions obvious. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she straightened her body, pressing her aroused breasts into his chest. He growled against her, his teeth nipping animalistically at her lips, leaving them swollen and red. Gasping, she pulled her head away from his as he trailed steaming marks down her neck from his adamant lip biting. Every touch sent fire up her body, leaving a sudden burning between her legs.

Hands like possessive claws on her body, she could feel him pulling the flimsy pleather costume down her chest. Shoving it out of the way impatiently, he cupped her breasts in his cold hands, his large palms holding her up against the wall as his lips continued to trail lower and lower down her throat until he reached her collar bone. With a tight grip, he massaged the hard rock's piercing his hands' flesh which only resulted in her digging her nails into his shoulders. She whimpered when he removed his hand from her right breast, the cool air causing her arousal to only heighten as goosebumps replaced the area he had vacated.

That didn't last long however. With wide eyes, she stared up at the ceiling with a silent moan as his mouth descended upon her hardened nipple, his teeth clamping down around the soft flesh, his tongue a delicious temptation as it made circles around the pebble imbedded therein.

A shiver ran up her spine, her legs feeling weak beneath her. As if some kind of weight had descended on her mind, she felt herself losing all sense of control, her body's incarnate needs reeling through her with a push she herself did not know she possessed. His pure, fiendish intentions had overtaken her. She prided herself on being a foe to be trifled with, but at that moment all she wanted, _needed_, was his touch encompassing her entire body. His raw, unrelenting lust.

Stomach turning with an anxious kind of anticipation, she felt her lungs begin to stifle her with shallow breaths, her eyes closing tightly as she resisted the urge to cry out (they were, after all, in a dressing room, it was bad enough people had probably seen them enter together). The pads of his fingertips drifted down her side like his own personal brand, her virgin skin trembling uncontrollably as inch by inch of her flesh was stroked. Leaning into him once again, she could feel the bulge in his pants against her thigh, his insistent growling hiss vibrating against her breast as she unintentionally brushed the tightened area of his jeans.

Fingers jolting downwards, his digits suddenly found themselves placed on the inside of her thigh and moving upward. As if a bucket of water had been dumped over her head, Tatsuki found her brain struck dizzy, red lights flashing before her eyes, sirens screaming in her ears. As he gripped the fabric lying between her legs, she took hold of his shirt. With the ferociousness and strength of the karate champion she was, she threw him backwards, his fingertips just barely grazing the sensitive skin between her legs as he slammed back into the door.

Breathing hard, she jumped forward, slamming her lips into his shocked ones as her hand snuck around to release the latch on the door. With a simple click it sprang free and, eyes wide, the blue haired man tumbled backwards, his shocked expression visible to her for only a moment before she shut the door again and latched it securely.

Backing up, she shakily found a place on the floor. Hugging her arms around her bare chest, she stared wide eyed at the wall, her own body slowly calming itself as the realization of what she had done slammed into her like an out of control train.

She'd never felt that ways towards a man in her life.

It was terrifying that a single person, in mere seconds, could cause her such sexual elation. Terrifying and exciting, which only made it all the more dangerous.

**oOo**

"Oh my gosh, if I knew he was going to react like that I never would have made you try it on!" the redhead exclaimed, her hands cupping her face as she stared at her best friend with wide, innocent eyes. "I'm so sorry Tatsuki; I was only trying to help! I'm the worst friend ever..." She looked like she was going to cry.

"No, it's okay Orihime, really!" the dark haired girl tried to soothe as she sat down on the couch next to her best friend. "It's not like anything really happened, I mean-"

"Of course something happened!" the taller of the two wailed. "He tried to- to-"

"No he didn't Orihime," the dark haired girl sighed as she placed a reassuring hand on her best friends shoulder. "I'm perfectly capable of defending my own honor; you don't need to blame yourself for anything. Nothing happened." Huffing, the grey eyed girl glanced up at Tatsuki sheepishly. But the calm look in her best friend's eyes reassured her and she started to calm down a little.

"You know," Orihime started with a small smile, "Ulquiorra and I were wondering why he looked so irritated after coming out of the bathroom." Tatsuki smiled as well and together the girls shared an amused giggle.

"Well some good did come of it," the shorter of the two started again as she leaned back in her best friends couch. "With a few alterations, that costume may turn out to be pretty useful this Halloween." Orihime's big eyes bulged even larger, her mouth forming an "o."

"You bought it?" she whispered in awe.

"I did," the dark haired girl assured with a mischievous smile. "But like I said, with a few alterations. There's no way I'm walking around in something like that without a little added to it." The devious glint never left her eyes. "Of course not to point where it would defeat the purpose of wearing it to begin with."

"I knew you had some feminine wiles," the orange haired girl stated as she started digging through her own shopping bag from their escapades with the boys earlier that day.

"What did you and Ulquiorra get?" By the lighted look that ignited the redhead's face, she'd been waiting for Tatsuki to ask that question.

"Oh my gosh, it's _so_ cute..."

**oOo **

"Why do we have to meet at _my_ house?" Ichigo sighed as he leaned against the fence outside his home, hoping to all ends that his father wasn't going to come vaulting out of the house with some lame ass idea about their Halloween get together. He'd already tried to tag along once in his ridiculously tight Peter Pan outfit. Really, it wasn't something anyone needed to see.

"Because you're neighborhood is the biggest to go trick-or-treating in," Rukia argued. "I didn't force you into this so you we could come back empty handed. This is my first Halloween and it will be a good one." She was set firm in her decision and her significant other sighed again.

Together they waited, the taller of the two in a high collared vampire costume with a flowing cloak. Slap on some pale make-up and a pair fangs and he really looked the part, minus the bright orange hair. It had a very aged feeling to it, and Rukia had to admit he did look rather dashing all dressed up.

She on the other hand _had_ to buy the most adorable bunny costume she'd ever seen. It was a full body suit complete with a hood and big white ears. It wasn't in the least flattering, and Ichigo had explained that that was because it was an Easter Bunny costume, one meant for small children. But every other bunny costume she had found would have made her look like a skank. She had tried on one of _those_ for Ichigo, and considering how much they had made out afterwards, she had deemed it inappropriate for public use.

He had of course tried to argue which only ended with her punching him square in the face.

"Aren't you two just cute," glancing up, the two came face to face with none other than Renji. The redhead has his arms crossed over his chest at first, but lowered them to reveal his costume.

"_Wow_," Ichigo drawled sarcastically, "aren't you just clever." The taller shinigami grinned, ignoring the mocking in his friend's voice. He appeared in normal attire aside from his white t-shirt. Across the chest of said shirt was one word, "Human."

"I thought it was really witty," the redhead defended as he glanced down at his costume. "I mean, most people would wear this shirt for the stupid irony if it, but since I'm not human it's ten times better." Rukia rolled her eyes. It was obvious her old friends costume was completely and utterly _lame_.

"No way!" Whipping their heads in the opposite direction, they all caught a glimpse of blue stomping their way. "Go change Fuckberry." Ichigo glared at his rival, but stood his ground as the other vampire got up in his face.

"No, _you_ go change." Aside from the hair color, they were practically twins, having bought the exact same vampire costumes. Rukia snickered. "I make ten times the vampire you do, so you can just walk on back home like the Pussy you are and put on something less dignified."

"I'm going to kick your ass."

"Go ahead and try."

"Don't even start..." the two glared up as Uryu approached, "Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum." He laughed at his own little joke. The two glared at him a bit longer before turning back to each other to commence in their normal bickering.

"And you're supposed to be?" Renji asked with raised eyebrows, apparently not at all enthused by what he saw before him. The Quincy merely raised his eyebrows mockingly as he smoothed out his black kimono.

"Well if you can be a human then I assume I am at liberty to be a shinigami." Neither Rukia nor Renji found his costume at all amusing, especially since he wore a "I don't know what I'm doing" T-shirt underneath it. If that wasn't a blatant insult then they didn't know what was. Uryu of course didn't remain focused on them for very long. Glancing around, he appeared to be looking for someone. "Where's Cifer?" he hissed with narrowed eyes.

"Said something about Pet having his costume, had to go over to her apartment," Grimmjow clarified as the two vampires reentered the conversation. Apparently done squabbling, Ichigo held a peeved look on his face while Grimmjow seemed very smug. The blue haired teen had won their argument on who made the best vampire due to two reasons. One, he was taller, and two, his fangs were real, not plastic. Both things Ichigo could not remedy.

"Tch," Uryu crossed his arms over his chest, his own irritation obvious. Hearing hysterical laughter down the street, the group turned their attention to four more figures making their way towards them.

"I can't believe you wore that!" the woman was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes.

"She's my host!" the bald one hissed. "It is called common curtsey Rangiku, not that you would know about that. She wanted me to wear it, so I did dammit!" Walking towards them was a menagerie of strangely dressed individuals.

The strawberry blonde boasted a skimpy devil costume made up of a revealing one-piece, fishnets, stilettos that could kill, and two little red horns set on her head. A devils tale was also dangling down behind her.

On her left was a very grumpy Ikkaku. He too wore fishnets though they were white instead of black, and above them was a puffy pink tutu wrapped around a tight fitting pink leotard. Over his shoulder he held a wooden sword, a very high contrasting object to his girlish appearance.

A pair of beat up combat boots completely the outfit.

Next to him was a giggling Yumichika. His appearance almost made Ichigo throw-up, but he settled for a dry heave instead. He was sporting the same white play-boy bunny outfit that Rukia had worn when they'd made out in the costume store. That had been his fantasy for the last week.

Not anymore.

Last but not least, though shortest, was Toshiro. He looked like he wanted to explode behind the bright red clown nose stuck on his nose and the frilly collar around his neck. His outfit was polka dotted in every color of the rainbow, three fuzzy balls that were supposed to resemble exaggerated buttons running up the front. On his feet were two overly large red shoes, and on his head was a pointed hat made of the same fabric as the main part of his costume. It didn't help that the sleeves tapered in at his wrists and then exploded in a bracelet of fuzzy purple fir and lace. Truly, he looked _younger_ than an elementary school student.

"Wow, you guys... look... interesting..." Renji scratched his head as the shinigami stopped before the group. Toshiro started sputtering about Rangiku and her stupidity, but none of them could really make out what he was saying.

"Doesn't Ikkaku look cute?" Rangiku pulled one of the hairless mans cheeks. He obviously wanted to kill her. "He makes the best ballet dancer doesn't he? Just too adorable." Yumichika started laughing again and the captains hands tightened around his wooden sword, a vein throbbing dangerously in his forehead.

Grimmjow and Ichigo started to giggle as well.

"Just... priceless," Uryu deadpanned through tight teeth. Rukia and Renji shook their heads.

"Hey, who's the duck and pumpkin?" Glancing past the shinigami still harassing the poor pink captain, the group set their sights on two more figures making their way down the street towards them at Renji's inquiry. The smaller of the two wore a fuzzy yellow duck outfit that covered the wearer from head to toe. It even came with a big yellow head that allowed one to see out through its beak.

The pumpkin, or jackolantern rather, looked far less happy then the duck despite the smiling face spread across the wearer's stomach. Like a marshmallow, the costume was bloated only orange instead of white. Atop his head was a crooked orange top with a cut green stem. Below the costume he appeared to be wearing...

"Are those... green tights?" Grimmjow smirked as the duo entered the fray. Ulquiorra frowned even more deeply, seeming far then enthused with is brothers mocking question.

"Did you hijack those from my dad's Peter Pan costume?" the orange haired shinigami asked and the two vampires high-fived each other on the obvious cleverness of the question. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Don't you two look cute," the fourth deadpanned as he shoved his green sleeved arms into the bloated pockets of his jackolantern base. "If I did not know better I would say you planned it that way. Are you two a couple now?" Glaring, the two rivals shared a sudden equal hatred for the dark haired Espada.

"What's wrong with Ulquiorra's costume?" Orihime popped the duck head off her own head, her orange hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. "I picked it out; I thought he looked cute..." She was pouting now and no one had the heart to tell her she was completely off base on how the fourth looked. Apparently that was why he was wearing it as well. _Everyone_ knew by now that Ulquiorra had a terrible time saying no to Orihime about anything. For being such a stiff, he gave into her awfully easy.

"Yeah... cute..." Grimmjow cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced away from the frowning redhead. She was surveying her boyfriend up and down, apparently failing to understand what everyone else found so terrible about the outfit. Ulquiorra wouldn't look her in the eyes.

Narrowing his blue gaze, the sixth spotted a shadow creeping up on them out of the shadows. Small, dark, and lithe, it didn't take the individual long to reach them. With a graceful pounce, she landed next to her best redheaded friend in the circle. Both Uryu and Ichigo gaped upon seeing her, obvious shock plastered across their wide eyes.

"T-Tatsuki?" the orange haired shinigami choked and she smiled cockily. Orihime giggled next to her knowingly. "Wow... you're... a cat..." The karate champion raised her eyebrows innocently despite how her outfit screamed otherwise. She sported the same costume from the store only now she had the gloves as well. She'd traded in the fishnets for something a bit more conservative though, a black pair of leggings. But her boots didn't help much. They appeared to be leather knee high contraptions with sharper stilettos than Rangiku's (Orihime's idea for fending off Grimmjow if necessary). Seeming rather seductive, she twirled the cat tail around in her hand, purposefully ignoring Grimmjow.

"Yeah, I usually go all out with the scary factor, but I decided something simpler this year. With all that's been going on I didn't have the time to find a really good costume." Ichigo nodded in confused understanding as he gave his oldest female friend another once over, but no matter how many times he assured himself this was Tatsuki, something in his head was screaming in protest.

"I," Grimmjow burst forth, his cape held up above his head like bat wings as he shadowed the dark haired girl, "am a vampire." He smiled sadistically and she gave him a skeptical crooked smile in return. A look of understanding crossed Rukia's face and she cast Orihime a look. Laughing, the redhead only confirmed the short shinigami's suspicions. Tatsuki was in fact only dressed like this to tease a certain blue haired Espada.

"Yeah, I can see that," she crossed her arms over her chest. "You and Ichigo make a matched set." Lowering his arms, the sixth glared back at his rival who returned the look just as evenly. The two appeared about to start fighting again when yet another shadow was cast across the clearing. Glancing up behind Tatsuki, all eyes met the giant known as Chad in a rather convincing Frankenstein costume. He simply nodded down at all of them and remained silent.

"Well that's everyone, right?" Uryu asked as he glanced around the group.

"Not quite," Ichigo sighed. "My dad said we have to take my sisters with us, something about family bond-"

"We don't need to go with you Onii-san," Karin deadpanned as she and her twin sister came upon the group. They made quite the contrasting pair. The dark haired one sported a black skeleton costume with a plastic skull mask sitting on her head, waiting to be lowered to her face. Yuzu on the other hand wore a pair of white wings and a white robe with a silver halo above her head. The epitome of an angel if anyone ever saw one. "We're going with Lilynette and Nel with Harribel." Shrugging, their older brother didn't appear to have a problem with that.

And as if on cue the three of which she spoke of came upon them. Lilynette was wrapped in purchased mummy bandages, only her eyes were visible, and Nel was wearing a cute little Dalmatian outfit complete with little booties and a red fireman's hat. Renji sighed when he spotted her, as he always did when she was around. When a human, she returned to her child body, both her physical stature and mental state returning to therein. That she had the soul of a full grown woman was indecipherable.

"You guys look so good," Harribel smiled, Nel's hand held firmly in her own. She wore a festive orange sweater and black skirt, her blonde hair pulled back in bat clips. "I want pictures of everyone so I brought a camera. I'm glad I caught you all before you left." Grimmjow sighed, a look of annoyance settling onto his face. Apparently he was embarrassed by his guardian's motherly antics in front of his friends. "So why don't you all group up for me." Grumbling, the teenagers formed a somewhat coherent stage of people, the younger girls (and Toshiro) all set in front. Nel was the only exception. She insisted on climbing onto Ichigo's shoulders.

"Hurry up and take the picture," Grimmjow groaned and his mother hen cast him a disapproving look as she focused the small digital camera.

"Calm down Grimmjow," she scolded and he sighed. "Say 'cheese'... that is the phrase right?" They nodded and she smiled proudly. Without doing as she asked, the group smiled, well some, and she snapped the picture, saving forever that _exciting_ moment. "Wait," she stated as the group started to disperse. "Grimmjow and Ichigo, stand together." They sighed, knowing exactly why she wanted a picture of them. They "matched."

Trying to look as miserable as possible, the duo waited until the flash of the camera was released. "Okay, now you get in there too Ulquiorra." The green eyed Espada cast the blonde woman a set of narrowed eyes, but his older brother was growing impatient with this.

"Get over here!" he issued as he pulled his younger brother up next to them. Standing, the three males waited until the camera once again flashed, looks of utter misery gracing their features.

"Okay, now Lilynette, Karin, Yuzu, and Nel, you four get over there too." Prancing into the frame, the four girls set themselves up before their older brothers, big grins plaster onto their faces.

"Why am I still in this picture?" Ichigo asked irritably as he scratched the back of his head.

"Shut up," Grimmjow snarled. "It's bad enough that an image of you standing next to me is going to be around for eternity, I don't need to hear your voice too." The orange haired shinigami glared at the blue haired teenager.

"Fuck you."

"Ichigo," Harribel targeted him scoldingly, "don't swear." Sulkily, the orange haired individual did as she said and she quickly snapped their misery once again. "There, I think that should probably do it."

"Wait! Don't leeeeeeeeave!" Glancing back at the Kurosaki clinic, Ichigo sighed as his father bounded from the door, vaulting into the street and scattering his friends. As he did every Halloween, he sported his Peter Pan costume complete with hat and bell tipped shoes. "I want to go trick-or-treating toooooooo!"

"Wow," Harribel raised her eyebrows at the sight of the tighted man, "that's a really old costume." The dark haired man vaulted over to her with hurt eyes. "I mean it _looks_ old," she corrected awkwardly.

"It does?" the older man questioned as he glanced down at his attire. The green fabric was fraying in multiple places, the color was faded, and the tights had multiple runs in them. "I've had this costume for seventeen years, wore it the year Ichigo was born. I was Peter Pan and Masaki was Wendy." Tears glistened in his eyes. "I wear it in honor of her every year." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"What did you dress Ichigo as?" Rukia asked curiously.

"He was Winnie the Pooh," the older man replied quickly and confused looks were thrown around the clearing. That didn't make any sense at all. Either that, or the glances stemmed from certain individuals not knowing who Winnie the Pooh, or Peter and Wendy, were to begin with.

"Stop talking Goat Beard," Karin kicked him in the back of the knee, causing the older man to buckle to the ground. "If you want to come with us then quit yapping or we'll miss Halloween altogether." Simply saying that, the group of younger girls headed down the street. They were flanked by Harribel who cast Isshin one last worried look before the man jumped to his feet and raced after them. They didn't get far however before Karin turned back to them.

"You coming Toshiro?" she asked irritably and the captain raised a single eyebrow at her. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, the newly made shinigami stomped her way back over to them, grabbed Captain Hitsugaya by the sleeve, and dragged his colorful form after her. He audibly objected, but, as always, was ignored by the dark haired Kurosaki girl.

"Your family is fucked up," Grimmjow muttered next to Ichigo as the supervised group left the teenagers. The orange haired shinigami glared him.

"Tch, yeah, says the guy who's mother just snapped pictures of a whole bunch of teenagers as if we were all _completely_ normal."

"She'd not my mother," the sixth stated lamely.

"Yeah, Whatever."

"Would you two hurry up?" Rukia yelled impatiently and the two turned to see most of the group had started heading in the opposite direction. "I want candy dammit!"

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

Whoa, WHOA! Calm down! Orihime and Grimmjow, get those teenage hormones under control. Oh snap.

That's all I have to say about that.

Well, and the fact that I absolutely despise the word nipple.

ANYWAY, sorry for the long update, been busy and I had trouble figuring out how to organize this chapter. It's still not as rounded out as usual, but it will have to do.

Woo, so some fluff and other stuff this chapter. Hopefully it makes up for the lack last chapter. I was considering jumping right back into the action this chapter, but decided that our characters needed a bit of a break and some time to work on their personal relationships. Plus, my brother and I were brainstorming what the characters would look like on Halloween as said holiday is so close and I wanted to include it, so hope you liked what Rob and I came up with.

Not only that, but this sets the stage for some… drama next chapter which will then lead into more plot and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra going about dealing with their issues. There might be some Ichiruki next chapter as well as some more Grimmtat, I haven't decided yet. In any case they're headed to a party.

I just hope Tatsuki knows what she's getting herself into… .

Well that's all I got to say about that, hope you all enjoyed the latest installment. Things will continue to stay in this "mature" realm so for those of you who are not okay with that, sorry I guess. I just hope the future plot points are enough to keep you around /shrug. And when I say that I'm referring to the heated scenes as much as the fight scenes. Like it or love it, and if you hate then leave it.

I don't know if I'll update again before Halloween, but in any case…

HAPPY "HOLLOW"WEEN!

Lul, see, that's a pun, Grimmjow used it earlier in the story too.

I'm such a dork.

Spooky amount of love to all,

Toodles.

R&R PLEASE!


	17. TwoBit Whore

**The Definition of Love**

_"So **hot **out the box can we **pick up the pace**?_  
_** Turn **it **up**, **heat **it **up **I need to be **entertained**_  
_ Push the **limit**, are you **with it**?_  
_ Baby, don't be **afraid**_  
_ I'ma **hurt **'ya real **good**, baby_

_ Let's **go **it's my **show**_  
_ Baby, **do what I say**_  
_ Don't **trip **off the **glitz**_  
_ That I'm gonna **display**_  
_ I told ya_  
_ I'ma **hold **ya **down **until you're **amazed**_  
_** Give it to ya** 'til your **screaming **my **name**_

_ No **escaping **when I **start**_  
_ Once I'm **in **I own your **heart**_  
_ There's no way you'll **ring **the **alarm**_  
_ So **hold on** until it's **over**"_

_**For Your Entertainment - Adam Lambert**  
_

**Chapter 17: Two-Bit Whore**

"Who was that?" Rukia cocked her head to the side as Ichigo snapped his cell phone shut, a less than pleased look on his face. Though he'd looked like that for most of the night seeing as his girlfriend had insisted he carry all her candy.

"My dad," he sighed. "It seems their group met up with a whole bunch of other kids from Karin and Yuzu's school and are now all crowded into my house for some impromptu sleepover my idiot father initiated." Rukia and Renji grimaced. "Exactly," the orange haired shinigami agreed, but shrugged as a cocky smile splashed its way onto his face, "which is why Ms. Harribel assured it was alright that we all crash at the local Hollow House instead."

Grimmjow growled, his hands forming claws at his side.

"Just make sure you keep that nasty ass cat away from me," Renji added as the group continued on their way. Ichigo paled at the mention of said animal, and as Grimmjow grew a sadistic grin, he was suddenly very uncomfortable with sleeping in his neighbor's house. Well he didn't have to go to sleep he supposed. Halloween fell on a Saturday that year, thus no school the next day.

"Let's not dwell on that," Uryu sighed. "We still have Mizuiro's party to get through." A few others in the group sighed as well, but most didn't really see anything daunting about said destination. Only those who had someone to fear or be annoyed by weren't looking forward to it.

"This is his house, right?" Ichigo questioned as they came upon a highly decorated expensive looked abode. Streamers, electronic characters, lights, candles, the whole shebang littered their classmate's yard. A few students from their school were hanging out on the porch, but most of the excitement seemed to be coming out through the windows. "I hate parties."

"You hate parties?" Rangiku gave the orange haired shinigami a skeptical brow. "If you hate parties Ichigo then you haven't been to any good ones. I'll invite you to one I throw sometime." Rukia rolled her eyes.

"All the parties you throw are just drowning in alcohol and… random nudity," the dark haired shinigami tapped Ichigo on the arm as they walked up the drive. "You should know Ichigo's not old enough yet." The lieutenant nodded in sudden understanding and Grimmjow laughed boisterously.

The most powerful being in the world's face dropped considerably, his eyes less than enthused.

Tapping their way up the steps, the large group of trick-or-treaters were just about to knock on the door when it flew open, a sheeted ghost bursting out towards them.

"Ichigooooo_ah_-"

"Don't even try it Keigo," the strawberry clothes-lined the ghost as he busted out the door and into their group. Falling to the ground in white heap, all they could hear were his whimpered coughs as he tried to recover from Ichigo's typical Keigo greeting.

"Is that my future husband?" a few glances were thrown at the sinking Ikkaku, his peppy outfit doing little to lift his spirits as Keigo's sister squeed out of the house. "Ohhhhh!" the crazy brunette hugged him tightly around the waist, her own samurai outfit clashing greatly with her "future husbands." "You look so _cute_! C'mon!" she tugged him into the house, "I want you to meet some of my friends." With a trudging kind of determination, the Squad Captain followed after her, his lieutenant tagging along as well, his high pitched laugh echoing around the party.

"Glad you guys could make it," the host of the party appeared to greet the rest of his guests still standing outside. Dressed in a cheesy pimp costume complete with cane and feathered hat, anyone else would have looked a complete fool, but somehow Mizuiro managed to pull it off. "Come on in. There's music and snacks and a few games. Make yourselves at home." Ignoring the still wailing Keigo, the group marched into the loud household.

"Where's the alcohol?" Rangiku asked immediately and their dark haired host gave her an odd look.

"Um, I'm under age, there's no alcohol at this party."

Jaw dropping open, one would have thought hell had frozen over by the look on the strawberry blondes face. She looked about to have a mental breakdown then and there.

"No alcohol?" she squeaked. They could all see the panic forming in her eyes, but there was a driven kind of thoughtfulness as well. Abruptly turning to Renji, she grabbed the redhead by the elbow, her blue eyes blistering up at him as he tried to back away. "C'mon Renji," she hissed as she started back out the door, "we have some work to do."

"Wait, wha-"

"No questions," she silenced him. "Just follow." Terrified for his life, the fellow lieutenant didn't fight her as she stomped back out into the cool air, his arm held tightly between her fingers. Casting confused looks at each other, the rest of the group could only shrug in response.

"I'm going to get some punch," Tatsuki alerted the group as she turned on her heel, her cat tail moving back and forth with her unintentionally swinging hips. Eyes popping, a certain blue haired Espada was suddenly very alert.

"I'll come with you!" Grimmjow flapped his way over to her. Turning back slowly, the karate champion had a skeptical smile on her face, her eyebrows furrowed as she placed a single finger on the sixths chest, pushing him back slightly.

"That's okay," she assured with uneasy eyes as her smile faded into a grimace. "I'll be fine by myself." Shoulders dropping, the blue haired teenager watched with a frustrated look on his face as his new interest faded into the crowd. Behind him, he heard someone whistling; the long note held out and lowering in tone with each passing second. Turning, his blue eyes landed on Ichigo just in time to hear the mock explosion leave his lips, a snickering smile on his smug face.

Taking a deep breath, the Espada merely had to remember that the shinigami was sleeping at his house tonight. Think of Colonel Fluffy Bottoms. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…

"Hime?" Whipping their heads around, the group watched in surprise as a pink playboy bunny flashed forward, her deep red hair shining menacingly in the light as she attached herself to the shocked yellow duck. "Hime! You look _sooooo_ **cute**!" No one could fathom how the rampant lesbian known as Chizuru had known it was Orihime as her costume covered her from head to toe. Must have been some freakish sixth sense she possessed.

Staring with wide eyes as his girlfriend was severely glomped, Ulquiorra was obviously confused as to what was going on, which was understandable. The she-stalker had been leaving Orihime alone since school started, probably because every time she came near a sudden wall of people was protecting the Princess, a new protocol they'd all taken up after the war when they'd feared for their friend's mental stability. The precautions had stuck ever since.

They'd let their guard down by accident though and for the first time since he'd become a human, the fourth would be faced with a severely traumatizing molestation act.

"H-hi Chizuru," the orange haired girl choked forth uneasily despite how the lesbian was suffocating the air out of her. The darker redhead looked like she wanted to cry as she embraced the duck, Ulquiorra glancing around the rest of the group for answers he would get soon enough.

"Oh Hime!" the overly emotional girl sobbed. "Ever since that… _man_ started following you around I haven't been able to think clearly. Every night I dream of you Orihime, I dream of what could have been!" she was wailing hysterically now. "I'm so glad you've come back to me Hime!" Ulquiorra cocked an eyebrow? Come back? From where?

?

"I dream of what should be!" she continued, "And I dream of what can be!" Stepping back, Chizuru's eyes went from upset to lusty in a matter of seconds. "Now we just need to get this costume off and…"

!

No one missed the look that flashed across Ulquiorra's face as he comprehended what this woman was intending to do. Homicidal green eyes widening, nostrils flaring in rage, they all watched as Orihime's boyfriend formed his hands into furious claws, his whole stature bristling dangerously. He was going to completely and utterly annihilate Chizuru and, well, they were all going to let him do it.

That is until a flash of black pounced into the fray.

"What the **hell** do you think you're doing?" lambasting the lesbian in the ribs with a gloved fist, Tatsuki sent the darker redhead flying to the floor some feet away. "How many times do I have to tell you _never_ to touch Orihime?" Brown eyes flashing, they all watched the karate champion glitter with rage as she stood above the now cowering Chizuru.

That is, until the molester caught a glimpse of the boots Tatsuki was wearing. Peeking up at her hesitantly, her jaw dropped at what she saw. Never in her life (or in most other people's lives for that matter) had she ever imagined she'd see the school tomboy dressed so provocatively, and in hooker boots too…

"**Stop looking at me like that**!" lifting her knee, the cat landed an uppercut to the lesbians chin, sending her spiraling backwards and into the wall, unconscious. Fuming, the dark haired girl balled her hands into fists, her cheeks flushing as she considered the way in which Chizuru had taken her in. Hopefully all her friends would incorporate her redness as anger.

Turning, she looked to Orihime to make sure the redhead was alright. She was tucked in Ulquiorra's protective embrace, his narrowed green eyes glaring death into the passed out individual some feet away.

Ichigo glanced at Uryu. "You know," he started, "I think that, even a year ago, I would have preferred Ulquiorra and Orihime be together then Chizuru."

The Quincy sighed, "Yeah, that's true." It wasn't something he liked to admit, but, well…

"Bravo," Grimmjow was clapping his hands slowly, a wide, teethe, dangerous grin stretching his lips. Tatsuki turned to look at him, her face dropping at the sight of his piercing blue eyes on her. The way he was looking at her, it was unnerving. Yet at the same time it was… "And you did all that in five inch stilettos. You're just full of surprises." The karate champion narrowed her gaze, but didn't say anything in rebuttal.

"Will you guys watch what you're doing?" Mizuiro sighed in annoyance. "I'd really appreciate my house stay in one piece." He was looking at Chizuru with an exasperated expression. No one said anything in reply; Tatsuki just huffed softly and sauntered away once again, Grimmjow's eyes never leaving her form.

**oOo**

"What do you want?" she asked with a sigh. She didn't bother looking up at him; instead she focused on the wall across from her, a cup of punch slowly being raised to her lips. She knew he was standing in the doorway, hands crossed over his chest as he leaned against the frame, a cocky smile on his face.

"Same thing you do," he stated, his grin widening. She couldn't refrain from looking at him then and with a cocked eyebrow, she tilted her head to the side just enough to catch his blue hair out of the corner of her eye.

"I highly doubt that," she affirmed with a scoff. He didn't appear at all fazed by her snarky reply.

"What are you doing in here all alone anyway?" He was asking about her current residence in a lone bedroom on the second floor of the party house. She had flopped down on the bed originally, but as soon as he had shown up she'd felt the need to straighten her posture defensively.

"Taking a break from all the gawking downstairs," she answered testily as she set her punch down on a nearby end table. He laughed a little at her reply before taking a step further into the room. Closing the door behind him, she didn't miss the way he'd locked it as well as all the outside noise away. She raised her other eyebrow at him.

"You're the one who wore the costume," he argued as he remained stationary some feet away from her, his hands shoved lazily in the pockets of his own costume. "You should have been expecting stares, dressed like that." It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her. "Why did you wear that costume anyway?"

"Because I can wear whatever I want," she stated quickly, a little too quickly in the sixths opinion, as she glanced away from him again.

"_Yeah_," he drawled, "because 'wearing whatever you want' was definitely the only thing on your mind after you pushed me out of the dressing room and then bought it." Again she was forced to look at him, though this time she was holding back a slight blush. "So… tell me again why you wore it?"

"Why do you want to know so bad?" she asked innocently. Two could play at this game. Casting her that ever blistering smile, he strolled his way over to the bed and sank down next to her, his face only inches from her own. A challenging stance no doubt and she refused to back down. Sitting straight, she faced him head on despite how her heart raced.

"I think you _want_ me to know," he hissed as the lids of his eyes dropped slightly, an obvious lust and wanting emanating from those blue cores. Lips tightening, the karate champion held her ground.

"I think you're dangerously misled," she whispered back as a tingling ran like little spiders feet across her skin. Yes, she was enjoying this, more than she should be really. It was a dangerous game after all, but, well, no man had ever looked at her like this before. Most other males thought of her as one of them. She enjoyed being the subject of someone's lust, of someone's sexual prowess.

She was enjoying it a little _too_ much really.

"Misled?" he seemed skeptical. "It's been pretty easy to gather what you're doing Chickie." Running the backs of his knuckles from her shoulder down her arm, she resisted the urge to shiver. Instead she settled for gripping the bed sheets overly tightly, a burning heat dropping between her legs. "You should know," his voice took on deeper, gnawing kind of grate, "that I am very versed in playing this game of cat and mouse. You don't stand a chance, I always get my prey."

"Your 'prey?'" she breathed, her own voice taking on a seductive air. Yes, she could play this game; she could play this game _very_ well. "I was under this impression that _I_was the cat, which could only make _you_ the mouse." Straitening her back, she unconsciously clamped her legs together as he leaned forward and down, his breath splashing across her neck as his hands slid slightly up her waist.

"I don't think so," he growled. "If I was the mouse then this would have ended at the costume store." She couldn't hold back her shivering this time as he laid his burning lips on her neck, his hands gripping tightly at her ribcage.

Staring straight ahead, the dark haired woman closed her eyes, her logical sense quickly taking root as far away from them as possible.

"How do you know that the cat just wasn't pleased with how the mouse tasted and… decided to get rid of it?" He froze in his advances momentarily before a chuckle reverberated throughout his entire body.

"Well if the stupid cat had finished her meal then she would have known better," he reprimanded, his hands creeping dangerously close to the rim of her costume. She in turn gasped as his cold fingers pressed into the skin above the fuzzy corset, her hands going to his shoulders unconsciously.

No more words were exchanged.

Running his hands to the back of the costume, he quickly realized that the whole thing would have to be removed else the leggings wouldn't come off either. Finding the zipper, he intentionally prolonged how long it took him to pull the metal contraption downward, his mouth forming burning rings up her neck and chin. She gripped harder at his costume, her back bending forward until she was practically offering herself to him.

With a click he felt the teeth separate entirely, her bare back victim to his clawing hands as the longest unzipping of her short life came to an end. Finally meeting her own lips with his, he stopped with the fluttering touches and instead viciously slammed his watering orifice into hers, his tongue searching violently and meeting hers in a battle they were both more than happy to commence in.

Breathing in deeply, she brought her hands up to his hair, her gloved fingers imbedding themselves in the blue locks. Her touch ignited his own arousal, the way she was pulling incessantly at his hair all the more charging his own want of her. Pulling his mouth from hers, he smiled when she gasped as he pulled the corset down and away from her aroused breasts, the cool air of the room enveloping her entire upper body.

Watching with a predatory kind of eye, he slowly pulled the costume lower and lower down her figure. She leaned back in turn, falling flat on the bed as he scooted backwards, pulling the taunting pleather one-piece down her legs and over her boots before he tossed it carelessly to the floor.

Staring up her form, he grasped her leathered calves with both his hands as he crawled his way back up to her. Wary of her tightly wound body, he was careful to always have his own leg between hers so she didn't clamp herself closed again.

Stealing his focus away from her waiting breasts, he made them travel to her boots. Yeah, they were pretty much the hottest thing he'd seen all night, and he would have preferred she keep them on during their entire foray, but that would mean the leggings would have to remain as well, and that wasn't an option.

With the slightest bit of regret, he found the tiny zippers on the inside of the dangerously pointed contraptions and slid them downward. Grabbing the bottoms of seductions devices, he pulled and was pleased when she pulled back in turn, her feet slipping easily from the tall leather pieces of art.

And as he dropped them to the floor, he had to make a mental note of reminding her to wear them more often.

Hands sliding up her tones legs, he leaned down on her, making sure that as he slid his body up hers, the bulging behind his pants brushed the tender area between her legs. And he received the exact reaction he'd expected. Legs tightening around his, she would have jerked her thighs closed had he not been preventing her from doing so. Her hands going to her hair, she moaned as she grabbed hold of her own black locks, sweat running down her neck as her cheeks flushed a light pink, her mouth falling open lustily below tightly closed eyes.

She didn't know what she was doing, or why for that matter. All she could think of to justify her actions was the sexual frustration that had built up in her since she'd hit puberty. No man had ever cast her a second glance, no man had ever shown an interest in her, and now that one was she wanted nothing more than to let him take as much an interest in her as he wanted. Like some animal kept in a cage too long, she felt her lust burst forth. It didn't matter that no man had ever touched her like this; her lack of experience was forgotten. Some carnal need imbedded in her genes was making up for all that, and the only thing she could register was the growing dampness between her legs, the way his steaming body created friction with hers, how his panting was induced by her own effect on him. She was pure woman and she wanted him _badly_. So badly that it drew a whimper from her lips when he started to once again place smoldering love bites along her neck.

Finding his shoulders with her hands, she was irritated to realize they were still clothed. Opening her eyes, she pushed him back, his blue gaze snapping to hers, a small grin forming on his face as she glared up at him from below heavy lids. He could see her determination, her challenge, and even as he reached up and pinched her right nipple between his fingers, she stared up at him. Her body merely jerked to the side slightly as he massaged the hardened tip between his thumb and forefinger.

Finding the clip that held his cape on, she undid the cheap clasp and let it fall to the side, landing in a pile on the floor beside the bed. Like some kind of possessed animal, she released each button on his vest with ease, her fingers nimble and steady. Beneath the maroon vest was another button-up black shirt and she dismembered that one as well to reveal his panting, muscular, hardened chest. Snapping his hand from her breast, she shoved the articles over his shoulders.

Leaning forward, she pressed her bare chest to his, her hands sliding down his arms as she shoved the costume the remainder of the way off. Tossing it to the side, it disappeared from her thoughts as she brought her fingers to his chest. His skin trembled beneath her touch, his hands finding her breasts once again as he held tightly onto her flesh. Breathing hard and panting, his sweating form only heated hers more continually. Leaning down, she laid a hard kiss on his collar bone, her nails running down a large scar slashed right down his center.

His kneading of her breasts became more driven then and with a vicious snarl, he slammed her back down onto the bed, his lips crashing into hers. Dropping his heaving chest onto hers, he removed his hands from her aroused breasts and moved them to her hips. He wasted little time there though and in a swift motion, he placed his fingers between the fabric of her leggings and her smoldering skin. Pulling downwards, his lips trailed down her neck to her chest and lower as he pealed the offending black fabric from her muscular legs.

Grabbing hold of his hair again, her pelvis thrust into the air as he threw the thin pants at the wall, his hand reaching up to pinch the inside of her thigh. She gasped at both his touch and the way his mouth sucked on her left breast.

Though he was frustrated to find yet another article of clothing beneath the leggings, he supposed the black panties wouldn't stand much of a chance in the end. Slipping his fingers upwards, he placed them gingerly between her sensitive skin and the fabric of her underwear. Fisting the dripping cloth, he pulled downwards once again, the black cotton sliding easily down her hips and thighs until, finally, he tossed that too across the room.

Sitting back, he ran his hand through his hair as he stared down at her naked form. The way her breasts rose and fell with every labored breath she took, the hardened tips a tantalizing temptation. Her whole form shook with what he could only assume was anticipation as she stared at him with determined, need filled eyes. He admired her sweating, toned stomach, the dark curls between her legs that would do nothing to shield her from him.

Her skin shimmered in the damp light and he found his own breath become erratic. He couldn't wait anymore.

Reaching for his belt, he skillfully pulled it loose, the ends falling to the side as he let free the button above the zipper holding him back. He never took his eyes off hers, he couldn't. They were too deep, too dark and lust filled for him to pull away. Her eyes doubled the effect she had on him, his arousal jumping to new heights. She wasn't afraid of him, afraid of what was going to happen. No, she was challenging him; she wanted a performance to remember.

That she even doubted his abilities was offending. She'd get what she was asking for.

The thought that afterwards she would regret asking for anything to begin with never crossed her mind.

**oOo**

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to get out of here," Ichigo yawned, apparently bored with the whole thing. It had been fine for the first half hour, but after that it all kind of went downhill. It didn't help that both Grimmjow and Renji had gone missing. Who was he was supposed to find entertainment in then?

"Same here," Rukia sighed, apparently just as bored as he was. Chad and Uryu nodded as well, Ulquiorra didn't say anything though he looked irritated, and Orihime frowned, her duck head held firmly in her hands.

"We have to find the others first," she whimpered and glanced around the room. Tatsuki had been off by herself almost all night, generally being stalked by a certain blue haired Espada.

"That's true," Ulquiorra agreed halfheartedly. "Grimmjow has the house key." Ichigo sighed, how annoying. Perhaps he should go hunting for the sixth, but that didn't sound like a very appealing thought. He would rather remain on the couch next to Rukia and wait some more.

"Isn't that Tatsuki now?" Glancing up, the group saw her sliding her way towards them, her dark costume making her lithe form stand out against the other people in the room. Orihime's frown deepened at the sight of her however. She looked a lot paler than usual.

"Hey guys," she breathed as she came upon them. Maybe no one else noticed, but her redheaded best friend did. She was tense, strained, and nervous. It was a very high contrast to the relaxed Tatsuki she was used to. "Um," she glanced behind her once before facing the group again, "I'm not feeling very well so I… I'm going to go home." Smiling once, she retreated away from them hastily.

"Tatsuki?" Orihime was about to rise to her feet when her best friend whipped around to face her. "Are you… do you want me to go with you?" The dark haired girl cast her a quick, tight smile and shook her head.

"I'll be fine, thanks though," she clipped. "I'll talk to you later." And as quick as she had come she had vanished into the crowd and disappeared once again. Leaning back against the couch, Orihime stared after her friend with a very concerned brow furrow.

"Well that was weird," Ichigo shrugged. "Maybe she ate something bad." Rukia had noticed the woman's strange behavior as well, but wasn't commenting. "Well if she's around then Grimmjow isn't far behind." And as if on cue the blue haired menace made an appearance.

"Hey," he shrugged as he glanced around their little posse. "Where's Tatsuki?" Orihime stared up at the blue haired teenager with a sad face.

"She said she wasn't feeling well and went home," she pouted. Ulquiorra wasn't stupid; he'd noticed his Woman's strange reaction to her friend's odd behavior and was now very in tune to Grimmjow's as well. Narrowing his eyes at his brother, he watched curiously as the sixths' shoulders dropped, his face forming a very uncharacteristic frown.

…What was going on?

"Well I think Ikkaku and Yumichika are hiding outside from Keigo's crazy sister, and I don't know where Renji and Rangiku went," the orange haired shinigami failed to notice anything at all amiss, "so I vote we hit the road." A few agreeing comments were thrown around the group and after retrieving the ballet dancer and the playboy bunny from the bushes outside, they moseyed on back towards the hollow house, all of them strangely silent.

Grimmjow held up the rear, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stared at the sidewalk in a brooding manner, not a single word leaving his lips.

**oOo**

Clicking the door quietly behind her, she took a few steps inside, her breath shaky despite it having been over an hour since she'd left the party. The room was dim, lit only by a few lamps, no overhead light. It wasn't particularly big either. There was a single window on the right with navy blue drapes hanging in front of it. The walls were a dark brown and made up of vertical strips of wood. The carpet was a light shade of tan and it was worn down from years of use.

Against the wall directly in front of her was a single bed, and to her left a desk, dresser, small bookshelf, and a full length mirror. Near the window on her right was a television on a small stand and a single small couch tucked in the corner.

Posters littered the walls and picture colleges of her with her friends hung above her bed.

Sighing, she dropped the towel that had been wrapped around her thin body, the cool air of her bedroom bombarding her skin with a refreshing kind of chill. It wasn't cold enough however to freeze her into a calm, she was still warm with the marks of her actions earlier that night.

She'd have those marks forever.

Walking towards her dresser, she forgot the damp towel in search of clothing to cover herself. And as she walked forward, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. Stopping, she stared with wide, swollen eyes at what she saw.

The marks of his hands were still imbedded in her skin, the scolding passion of his lips trailing over her like tiny burns. Perhaps no one else would see the marks, but she could. She remembered. She could still feel them with an intensity that made her stomach twist.

The way he'd clawed at her flesh, how he'd thrust through her, his brand forever lashed onto what had been a pure layer of her inner self. He would always be there; his blue eyes forever haunt her because he would forever be the base of her loss of innocence. The thought made her sick.

That hadn't been how it was supposed to happen. Thinking back on it made her queasy and she knew that was wrong. Terribly and irrevocably wrong. Yet at the same time, no matter how much she tried to fight it, there was that constant heat that flared whenever she recollected the way he had drove into her, the way he had touched her, the way he had kissed her. There was nothing wrong with what they had done, she wasn't held back by some moral obligation to keep herself pure. She hadn't been saving herself for anyone...

That was a lie. Perhaps the "who" of the equation was a mystery, but, like almost every girl, she'd wanted passion and heat, but she'd wanted love too. There had been none of that though. They hadn't finished the act and fallen asleep in each other's arms until morning when they'd have woken up, and he'd have looked at her and told her how beautiful she was.

No, they'd panted and stayed as silent as possible, listening as strangers walked back and forth outside the foreign room, screaming and laughing, music pounding in their ears. She'd lost her voice entirely, and then her sickness had driven her into motion. She'd gathered her clothes that weren't really hers off the floor she didn't know, put them on, and ignored his whispered questions as she'd rushed out the door, back into the loud abyss of party goers and strangers.

It wasn't fair, she wanted to take it all back, but it was too late for that. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't scrub his presence away. No amount of her shedding her skin had erased what they'd done. Would she forever feel so...

... So dirty?

She blinked back tears as she stared at her naked reflection. No one should feel as filthy and degraded as she did, not after doing something as sacred as becoming one with another person. She'd hit an ultimate low after feeling an all time high and it didn't make any sense. The thought of what they had done pulled her in two different directions and it was tearing her apart. It had been addicting and passionate and... beautiful, but there had been no _real_ feeling, and that was why she couldn't fully accept it.

That was why she was so scared of what they had done.

What was she to him? She'd gone to great lengths to get him to notice her. She'd tried to be tough, to let him know that he didn't stand a chance with her in an attempt to endear him. She'd comforted him when he'd been down to no avail. In the end she'd leaned on her body to draw him in, and it had worked. Like some desperate two-bit whore she'd offered him her literal self and asked for nothing in return, just to get some of his attention.

It was pathetic.

To him, she was probably nothing more than a body he could use. He didn't care about her, he'd wanted physical release and she'd practically begged him to let her assist.

Why? _Why_ had she done that?

Why had he been worth it _then_, yet was so far from that now?

How was she going to face him? How could she honestly look into his blue eyes, the eyes that had been so intense on only her just an hour before, and see nothing? He wouldn't want her now, why would he? He'd gotten what he wanted; she was of no use to him anymore. She was used goods, goods that had come to him in the form of something grand and been used up in a matter of seconds because she'd been too willing to let them go.

She had nothing to offer him, nothing to catch his interest anymore. He would forget her, and she would remember him forever.

It wasn't fair...

Wrapping her arms around her bare chest, she sank to the floor and wept.

**oOo**

"What is your problem?" shoving his hands into the pockets of his checkered pajama pants, the green eyed Espada stared at his brother with intent eyes. The sixth whipped his head around and snarled in reply, apparently in no mood to be interrogated.

Too bad.

"You have not said two words since we left the party and now you have blocked yourself up in your room," the fourth narrowed his gaze, apparently intent on getting answers. "I saw that look on that woman's face when she said she was leaving… what did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything to her!" he hissed as he stood violently, his threatening stance towards his brother doing little to intimidate the younger. Ulquiorra wasn't buying it. Something had happened between the two and he wanted to know what, if only for the sake of easing his Woman's worry, but by the way Grimmjow was acting, even the truth wouldn't do that.

"Do not lie to me," he stated plainly. The blue haired teenager looked about to bite his head off, but hesitated. It was then that Ulquiorra noticed the tightness of his lips, the confusion set in his blue eyes. It was rare that he'd seen his brother nervous… ever. "What happened, Grimmjow?" he insisted sternly.

Huffing, the sixth collapsed back on his bed, his forehead suspended in his hands in frustration. Patient as ever, the darker of the two stayed silent, knowing it was only a matter of time…

"I don't know," the other finally replied, his voice sounding defeated. "One minute things were great, the next she… I don't fuckin' understand." Ulquiorra remained silent, waiting for the blue haired man to divulge more details. "I thought we were having fun, and she didn't say no. Actually she was more than willingly, so why she… 'fled the scene' afterwards I don't know. I don't know anything."

Ulquiorra sighed as realization dawned on him.

"You had sex with her didn't you?" he deadpanned, his lips tightening. "I hope you were not an idiot about it; you know what Harribel said about getting a girl pregnant. You are an-"

"I didn't knock her up," the other interrupted. "I'm not a dumbass. I used a condom for fuck's sake." The fourth continued to stare, his eyes calculating.

"Where did you get a condom?"

"Okay, really?" Grimmjow stared at his brother like he was an idiot. "I just told you that I screwed a girl, someone I would characterize as a friend, and that's all you can say?" He shook his head. "I carry them with me all the time if you _must_ know. Maybe it's a habit you should get into as well." The green eyed individual narrowed his eyes at that one. "Fuck," the blue haired teenager sank farther into his bed. "If you came in here to be an asshole then don't bother, I already feel like one. She practically ran away from me."

Ulquiorra sighed and together they fell silent. It wasn't long however that the standing of the two turned and headed towards the door.

"So you did just come in here to be an asshole," Grimmjow stated cynically and his younger brother turned, seeming less than happy, but then again that was how he looked a good majority of the time.

"I will be back in a minute," he assured and continued on his way.

"Oh, _great_," Grimmjow muttered as the door closed behind his brother. "Why even bother…?"

**oOo**

"It's about time one of you came back down here," the orange haired shinigami stated irritably from his spot on the couch. Ulquiorra ignored him and glanced around the room in search of a certain individual. All the people in the house were in all states of costume undress, some more so than others, and all Ulquiorra could think was that he was glad they'd come back to his house. He would not have enjoyed lounging around in those… overly taut green tights. "Where's Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked.

"He is not feeling well," the other stated and curious, though not surprised, faces were cast back and forth around the room. They had all noticed Grimmjow's change in mood on the walk back, yet none had dared ask. "Woman," the fourth nodded to the redhead sitting some ways across the room. She'd shed her duck feathers to reveal her tight fitting yoga pants and tank top. But her boyfriend couldn't think about that currently. "Come with me a moment," he issued.

"Um, okay," she furrowed her brows and stood, making her way towards him. A few snickered whispers echoed around them as the two headed back up the stairs. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes at their immaturity and instead focused on reaching his bedroom.

Once there, he closed the door behind her.

"What's up?" she asked, her head cocked to the side.

"You were worried about your friend?" he got straight to the point and the redhead furrowed her brows curiously, a frown forming on her lips. "I have spoken to Grimmjow and found the source of both of their distress." She paled; she must have known it wasn't good. "It seems the two entered into a rather intimate situation before they were ready."

"How intimate?" she asked hastily.

"About as intimate as it gets," he stated as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He'd never seen the redhead's face drop like it did then, the news causing her breath to catch. He pursed his lips.

"Oh no," she breathed. "This isn't good," she shook her head. "Definitely _not_ good." Ulquiorra sighed. What in the world had Grimmjow been thinking anyway? He must have known that… that none of these teenage girls were ready for that. There were plenty of times where the fourth could have initiated the same act with his Woman, but he didn't, and for good reason. His brother was an idiot.

"Grimmjow seems to be of the same opinion," he continued. "He is rather upset about the whole thing. Apparently she fled as soon as she could." His Woman sighed in extreme distress, her grey eyes swimming.

"I need to go to Tatsuki," she finally decided.

"I thought you would say that," he replied. "I will go with you." Her frown deepened and she started to shake her head.

"No Ulquiorra," she finally spoke up. "I have to go by myself. This is something that… that only I can deal with, if that's possible. Do you understand?" He huffed; he'd been figuring she'd say that.

"Wear this then," he grabbed a heavy, black zip-up sweater from a laundry basket nearby. "It is chilly out." She smiled up at him as she slipped her small arms through the overly large article of clothing. Leaning down towards her, they shared a quick yet passionate kiss before she once again dropped into unhappiness.

They walked back out into the hall.

"Try to help Grimmjow feel better," she stated as they headed down the stairs. He nodded though he didn't know how successful he would be. Once again faced with their friends, the redhead tried to come up with a convincing lie to relay to them. "Um," she started to slip on her shoes, "I left the oven on in my apartment so… I have to go." The last was hardly a mutter and most of the group gave her skeptical glances, the lie obvious.

"Uh, okay…" Uryu furrowed his eyebrows as his gaze drifted to Ulquiorra. "You going too?" The green eyed man shook his head. "Well someone should," the Quincy looked about to stand, "I'll-"

"She'll be fine by herself," the fourth stated calmly and his woman smiled gratefully up at him. Apparently getting the message, the glasses wearing teenager settled back into the couch, his eyes thoughtful.

Rukia twisted in her seat to stare at Orihime as the redhead tapped her toe against the ground, successfully securing her tennis shoe. The short shinigami was frowning. She knew this was a rescue mission.

"Orihime?" she questioned and silver eyes turned to meet violet ones. "You don't need me to go?" The Princess smiled gratefully at her older friend, seriously considering the offer. She was after all filled with years of experience, she could hold a lot of wisdom that Orihime did not.

"I don't think so," she finally decided. "I'll… I'll take care of it tonight and let you know how things go." Rukia didn't argue, just nodded once. "I'll see you guys later," the redhead smiled sweetly, her gaze lingering on Ulquiorra a little longer than the rest of them before she skipped towards the door.

With a final click she was gone.

Turning to his girlfriend, Ichigo cocked an eyebrow at her. Backing around and snuggling into the couch, the older shinigami gave him a pitying eye.

"Don't worry about it Ichigo," she rubbed his arm soothingly and sighed. "It's… way over your head at this point." Clearly offended, he pouted, but said nothing else. Eventually all gazes drifted to Ulquiorra again who was still standing motionless and staring at the doorway. Feeling their eyes on him, he slowly turned to look at them. They were all silent, and finally deciding that he'd had enough, the fourth turned on his heel and headed back up the stairs.

"There's food in the fridge," he stated as he disappeared into the upper level of the house.

"Wow, great hosts," Uryu complained irritably.

**oOo**

"I'm sorry Ms. Arisawa," Orihime dipped her head, her hands held together in front of her face. "I know it's late and I'm sorry I woke you." The older woman was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her dark hair in slight disarray. "I just really need to talk to Tatsuki."

"It's fine Orihime," the woman of the house yawned. "You know you're welcome here anytime." Throwing her head back up, the relieved redhead smiled gratefully. "I think Tatsuki is in her room."

"Thank you," she stated respectfully as she was allowed in the house. Shedding her shoes at the door, she cast her best friend's mom one last smiling look before she rushed through the familiar house. Finding the stairs, she toed up them, dashed past the bathroom, and found herself squarely before a dark blue painted door.

She took a deep breath and knocked.

She didn't receive an answer, though she hadn't really been expecting one, and with a creaking kind of slowness, she turned the knob and shoved the door open. Peeking inside, she saw that her best friend was in fact awake.

Yes, Tatsuki was _very_ awake.

"Orihime?" she choked from her spot sitting on her bed. She was clad in a pair of shorts and a sports bra, blanket hung precariously from her shoulders. Knees pulled up to her chest, there was a box of tissues by her feet and dozens of used ones littering the floor.

Her dark eyes were red and bloodshot, a stark contrast to her normally determined and straight forward attitude. The redhead frowned deeply.

She looked so small…

"Yeah, it's me," she said quietly as she slipped the rest of the way into the room. Making sure the door was closed securely behind her, she raised her head to once again meet Tatsuki's eyes. "How are you doing?"

Tearing her gaze away from her best friend, the dark haired girl stared at her bed sheets. She could tell just from looking at Orihime that she knew.

"Grimmjow go bragging about his big catch or something?" she asked bitterly and Orihime pursed her lips at the sharpness laid therein.

"No," she replied quietly. "Actually Ulquiorra said he was pretty upset about the whole thing. Something about… about you… running away from him… afterwards…" The redhead watched as her friend flinched, almost as though someone had punched her in the gut. Her lip began to quiver dangerously.

"What e-else was I supposed to d-do?" she whispered, her eyes blinking back tears. Letting loose a strangled whimper, the redhead surged forward. Climbing up onto the bed next to her best friend, she wasted no time in wrapping her arms around her shivering form. "Oh Orihime," the tears began to fall, "I don't even kn-know why I did it an-anymore." Biting her bottom lip, Tatsuki's best friend could only listen. "He probably thinks I-I'm… that I…"

"No," the redhead rushed in quickly. "He doesn't think anything like that Tatsuki. Neither do I, neither does Ulquiorra. No one does." Her comforting voice brought on an entire new wave of emotion and the dark hair girl began trembling violently inside Orihime's tight embrace.

"It's wrong," she cried. "That's n-not how it was s-supposed to b-be." Rocking her back and forth, the redhead felt tears prick at the back of her own eyes. This was not the way Tatsuki was supposed to act. This was beyond wrong. She was too strong to be driven to this. It wasn't fair. "H-how am I supposed to f-face him Orihime?" her voice was barely audible. "How…?"

"I don't know," she replied softly as she stroked her best friend hair. "I don't know Tatsuki. I'm sorry." Tightening her arms, the redhead sat with her for the rest of the night.

**oOo**

"What the fuck is going on down there?" Grimmjow asked irritably as he pressed the pause button on his PS3 remote. Glancing at the floor, Ulquiorra could only ponder the question as he waited for his older brother to commence in the game.

His Woman had asked that he try and help the blue haired teenager feel better, but, well, how was he supposed to do that? Upon returning to his brothers' room, he'd tried to somehow… speak to the sixth, but that had failed miserably. In the end they'd decided that words were not necessary and that video games were a welcome alternative. Granted, the fourth was not very versed in the art of gaming, but Grimmjow had been quick to explain it to him. It was a… strange kind of communication, but, alas, Ulquiorra felt he had succeeded in doing as his Woman had asked.

Well, though he wasn't quick to admit it, he had been a little concerned for Grimmjow himself as well.

"Perhaps we should not have left them to their own devices," the fourth muttered with a slight sigh as a high pitched scream was heard from downstairs. Grimmjow grumbled something irritably before he slammed his remote controller on the ground. Ulquiorra took that as signal enough and stood together with his brother. Walking from the room, the two made their ways down to the living room.

"C'mon Ichigo, it won't kill you," Rangiku was standing tauntingly over the poor shinigami who was making a good burrowing hole out of the couch trying to get away from her. "I won't tell anyone." The strawberry blonde held a half filled beer in her hands, her feet unsteady as she wobbled back and forth precariously. "Just a sip, just to see of you like it."

"They came back," Grimmjow muttered as Ichigo was continually harassed. "And they brought alcohol." Walking forward, the sixth stepped over Renji who was staring up at the ceiling with a dazed look on his face. With a sigh, Ulquiorra followed.

"Look who came back from the dead," Uryu muttered as both Espada took seats among the others. Neither Grimmjow nor Ulquiorra replied to the statement, just watched with lazy eyes as Rangiku practically landed on top of Ichigo. Dodging out from under her, the redhead just barely made it out alive before the lieutenant collided face first with the couch.

"Hey Rukia," Grimmjow turned to the short woman who sat on the couch with a single bottle, unopened, in her hand. "You look like the type that could hold your liquor well," she cocked an eyebrow at him. "If you feel so inclined there's a video recorder camera thing above the fridge."

She laughed. "Why would I need that?"

"Because," the sixth started as he skillfully popped the cap off one of the beer bottles with a little metal opener. He'd retrieved the beverage from the center of the table, "we're all going to get drunk." She seemed skeptical.

"We are?" both Ulquiorra and Ichigo questioned at the same time.

"Listen Grimmjow, I understand you're depressed or whatever, but I don't see why you want it videotaped. Usually these are the types of things where cameras and the like aren't allowed or wanted," the short woman argued.

"Yeah, well," the sixth took a quick swig from the bottle, "I figure it will be a fun thing for Orihime and Tatsuki to watch, so they can see just how pathetic we all are." He laughed, "Plus, Ulquiorra is a _hilarious_ drunk." The fourth narrowed his green eyes at his brother.

"Why am I being included in this?" the younger Espada asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about Grimmjow," the seated officer of the thirteenth squad started. "I don't want to be included in any pathetic videotape of you all looking like fools." Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"That's why you'll be _behind_ the camera," he shook his head. She cocked her head, considering what he said, before shrugging and standing, her feet carrying her towards the kitchen. "Alright," he grabbed a few more beers and tossed them to every still conscious or sober person in the room (it was assumed that Ikkaku and Yumichika were drunk as loud yelling was coming from somewhere outside the house), that being Uryu, Chad, Ichigo, and Ulquiorra. "Let's get this party started."

"We're not old enough to drink," Uryu deadpanned. "Neither are you, technically." The blue haired teenager glared at him.

"I don't fuckin' care," he stated bluntly. "It's not like anyone is leaving here, so it doesn't really matter. Drink up Quincy, that is if you have the guts to." The taunt was directed at more than just the archer and Ichigo took great offense. If Grimmjow could drink then so could he.

Shrugging, the youngest shinigami popped the cap of his own beer with the bottle opener before he tossed it to Ulquiorra.

Sighing, the fourth sank in his seat as he too popped the cap. He couldn't hold liquor worth shit, but Grimmjow was pretty intent on this. Might as well go all out, he'd already dressed up like a fool, gone to a party, and played video games all in one day.

He was real animal.

He tossed the opened to Uryu. The quincy sighed, looked about to say something, then thought better of it. With a little hesitation, he popped the cap before handing the device to Chad. The big man in turn didn't think twice before opening his own beer and replacing the opener on the table.

"A toast," Grimmjow held his bottle above his head and the others followed suit. "To women," he sighed. "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

"That's a little cliché don't you think?" Ichigo inquired with a raised eyebrow. His blue haired rival glared at him.

"Shove it up your ass Kurosaki," he replied, "and drink your damn beer." Taking his own advice, the sixth ignored how the orange haired shinigami seethed and instead gulped down a good portion of what he personally characterized as a rather vile liquid.

Somewhere away from the group, a certain shinigami was smiling devilishly to herself as the red light of a camcorder flicked on.

**oOo**

"I don't think I can do this Orihime," the dark haired girl stared up at the Hollow House with a completely downcast expression. It was too soon, she didn't want to have to deal with this now; she'd only just gotten her emotions under control. "What if…"

"It's okay Tatsuki," the redhead assured as she took her friends hand in her own. "You really shouldn't put this off; it will probably make things worse later." The Princess wasn't in all honesty sure if Tatsuki talking to Grimmjow was the right thing or not, but the thought of going to school and having to deal with it there… well both her and Tatsuki had decided this was the better choice, even if the karate champion was now backing down.

Tugging her along, the long haired female approached the door to the house. She considered ringing the doorbell, but it didn't appear that any of the adults had returned home yet as there were no children about or anything. Harribel had stayed at the Kurosaki home the night before to help with the twelve kids now staying there, and the redhead assumed she was still there. Plus there was an eerie silence surrounding the house which could only mean that the majority of the people still inside were sleeping.

From what Ulquiorra had told her about their household, Harribel wouldn't be sleeping past eight in the morning.

Turning the knob to the door, she peeked inside and was met with no one.

"It will be fine," she assured her best friend once more as she toed into the house. Tatsuki's mood only seemed to drop more at her voice and she gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before entering the house fully.

Closing the door behind them, the girls cast roving eyes up and down the household as they tapped their way further into the house.

"Um," Tatsuki furrowed her eyebrows as they came upon the living room. Kicking an empty beer bottle to the side, she crossed her arms over her chest as both girls took in the sight before them. "I think they may have had a party without us." Orihime slowly nodded, her mouth hanging slightly open.

It was really quite the sight… a sight that Harribel would not be happy with later. Aside from the mess scattered about, the glass coffee table in the center of the room was shattered, apparently broken down the middle. Many of the couches had mysterious things spilled on them, and clothes, bottles, and random food stuffs littered the floor.

Along with all kinds of bodies. The first they noticed was Ichigo. He was sprawled backside down across a nearby couch clad in only his boxers and his vampire cloak. Perpendicular to him on another couch was Grimmjow, face buried in the corner of the sofa. He was in the same state of undress as Ichigo though he sported Ulquiorra's green tights instead of the cape.

The fourth in turn was buried in a chair nearby, sleeping in the fetal position. Much to Orihime's relief he was still fully clothed despite the empty beer bottle clutched tightly in his pale hand. Next to him, on the floor, was Renji who, like Ichigo and Grimmjow, was in a kind of undress sporting only his jeans, no shirt (actually it looked like his boxers had been removed as well. The girls were more than thankful he had found his way back into a pair of pants).

Ikkaku on the other hand… the girls paled. Luckily he was face first in the floor for his sheer nakedness would have been scarring to them both. Yumichika was sitting against the wall nearby in his playboy bunny outfit, a large stick in his hand that was apparently dragged in from outside.

They could only ponder.

Rangiku sat against the wall next to Yumichika, her mouth hanging open. She was still clad in her Halloween costume as well.

The only two in the room that looked at all normal were Chad and Uryu. The two sat against the tall, draped windows of the room, their faces peaceful and their clothes nicely set. The two girls assumed they probably hadn't gotten very drunk, unlike the rest of the room.

Rukia sat curled up next to the couch Ichigo was sleeping on, a videotape held securely in her sleeping hands.

Cocking a single eyebrow, Tatsuki made her way over to the petite shinigami, snatched the videotape, and made her way back to her best friend.

"I'm a little afraid," the redhead stated as the two stared down at what was obviously a homemade movie. There was no title and someone had scrawled something rather illegible along the side. The two seemed thoughtful for a moment before the karate champion shrugged.

"I'm going to watch it," she decided as she took a step towards the television. Flicking it on, she stuck the tape in the VCR and pressed rewind. It didn't take long and within a few minutes time the tape clicked to a stop and started to play.

Standing among the debris, the girls watched with skepticism at what unfolded before them.

_Rukia stared into the lens of the video camera, a slight smirk on her face. _

_ "Just so everyone watching this knows, it was Grimmjow's idea that I videotape, so don't hold any hard feelings." She laughed. "It took me a while to figure out how this thing worked, so everyone is… pretty much trashed already, but I guess that doesn't matter." The camera turned, leaving Rukia as it focused on the living room before her. _

_ "Whoa, whoa," Ichigo was standing on the couch, still fully clothed, a beer in each of his hands. "Everyone calm down, there's no need to panic." Everyone else was clustered around the large window and whispering. Ichigo seemed to be the only one not taking an interest. _

_ "Um," Rukia's voice was heard somewhere behind the camera. "I think Ikkaku just ran past the window naked, so that would explain that." _

_ "Panic?" Grimmjow had turned to the orange haired shinigami, a beer held firmly in his hands. "Of course I'm going to panic; I just saw some dumbass shinigami junk. I have every-"_

_ "Shut up Grimmjow!" Ichigo drawled as he jumped off the couch. "You're so annoying." Taking another gulp of his beverage, he stumbled towards the sixth, nearly falling into him as he fumbled to find the floor. _

_ "You _two_ are annoying," Ulquiorra had left the window, a very uncharacteristically bright expression on his face as he joined the two temperamental teenagers. "I don't get why you two can't get along, you're exactly alike." Walking by them, the fourth stumbled past the couch and caught his balance just before colliding with the coffee table. Taking an empty beer bottle in his hands, he cocked his head to the side, a curious look on his face. _

_ "He's right you know," Ichigo's face fell. "Like I said, two peas in a pod." _

_ "I don't like peas," Grimmjow stated as his face fell as well. "But Harribel says I have to eat them. Something about poor starving children in the Middle East not having any food so I should eat mine. I don't even know where the Middle East is."_

_ "I think it's probably in the middle of the east somewhere," Ichigo argued and Grimmjow nodded as if that made perfect sense. _

_ "Here it comes," Rukia giggled into the camera. "Grimmjow said he liked to sing when he gets drunk." Climbing up onto the glass table, Ulquiorra was stumbling precariously, an empty beer bottle held up to his lips upside-down. Finally finding his balance, he huffed. _

_ Rangiku was clapping her hands excitedly as she watched the fourth gain his bearings from her seat on the floor. "Are you going to do a striptease for us?" she inquired and Ulquiorra scrunched his face up in disgust. _

_ "No," he spat before he cleared his throat. "I have a song I'd like everyone to hear," he shouted, drawing the group's attention to him. Bare feet planted somewhat firmly on the glass table, he cleared his throat and was just about to start when Grimmjow interrupted him. _

_ "Can we make song suggestions?" he asked, "Because that one you sang last time totally sucked." Ulquiorra's face dropped; apparently he was less than enthused with that comment. _

_ "No," he spat again. "I will not let your poor taste impede on my performance." Turning away from his older brother, the green eyed Espada cleared his throat, apparently bracing himself to begin. Everyone else watched in rapt attention._

_ He took a deep breath…_

_ And…_

_ "Ohoowohoowhohhhh ohohhhohhh uwhoohohhh, **caught** in a **bad** _ro_mance!" Eyes closed tightly, the fourth sent his right arm into the air, his left holding the bottle firmly to his lips as he belted out lyrics. "Ohoowohoowhohhhh ohohhhohhh uwhoohohhh, **caught** in a **bad** _ro_mance!" _

_ "Dude, I **love** this song!" Ichigo exclaimed as he grabbed Grimmjow by the arm. _

_ "Rah, rah, ah-ah-ah; Roma, roma-ma; Ga ga, ohh-la-la; Want-yo-bad-_ro-mance_!" Moving with a slightly twitchy like integrity, the green eyed Espada did a drunken interpretation of the music video, his hair falling into his eyes as he threw his head back and forth. _

_ "We should dance!" Rangiku exclaimed and tried to stand. _

_ "**Stop interrupting**!" the dark haired singer yelled viciously down at the strawberry blonde, the sheer force of his anger sending her back to the floor. "How am I supposed to sing if you keep talking over me?" Huffing, the fourth ignored his hurt feelings and once again focused on the performance._

_ "Oh, oh!" Ichigo jumped to his feet suddenly and was sent a very peeved expression from the performing table dancer. "You need back up dancers!" the shinigami explained. "I've seen the video, I know." Pulling the blue haired Espada to his feet as well, he started towards the table. "C'mon Grimmjow, we got this. You too Renji." _

_ "Back up dancers?" the sixth seemed disgusted. "My moves are _way_ too good to be characterized as back up dancing." Doing some strange flailing movement, the blue haired man stumbled forward, almost falling onto his face in the process. _

_ Ulquiorra was fuming. _

_ "**I am the one singing Grimmjow so stop stealing my spotlight all the time**!" Again, the sheer force of his voice was amazing as he leaned down towards his brother. Face to face, the older was wide eyed as he tried not to fall backwards in reply. _

_ "Yeesh!" Ichigo exclaimed as he climbed up onto the table next to Ulquiorra. "What happened to the music? I don't know about you, but-"_

_ "**I'm working on it**!" losing his balance, the orange haired shinigami fell backwards off the table as Ulquiorra turned his rage to him instead of his brother. "I swear, I can't get a word in edgewise around here." The green eyed teenager was sputtering, his shoulders having dropped. _

_ "I want to hear you sing!" Rangiku cheered from her spot on the floor, "and I want sexy back up dancers toooooooo!" _

_ "I'm sexy," Grimmjow stated as he climbed precariously up onto the table next to his brother. With only a slight wobble, he took up his position to the fourths right, a confident yet slightly lazy look on his face. _

_ "This is sad," Uryu muttered as he entered the frame, a practically full beer bottle in his hands as he took up residence on the couch directly in front of the rising pop stars. "I'm actually surprised Ulquiorra can remember those lyrics so well considering he was the first to-"_

_ "**SHUT UP**!" the fourth shrieked down at the four-eyed Quincy. "**This is the rudest audience I've ever had**!" Frowning, Uryu did as he was commanded and merely watched as Ichigo climbed back up onto the table to the singers left. Seeing as Renji had been summoned as well, he glanced at the table once, saw that there wasn't enough room for himself, and crawled up onto the couch behind them. _

_ "Okay Ulquiorra," Rukia soothed from behind the camera, "we're all waiting, no one is going to interrupt." The fourth frowned, his hands dropping to his sides poutingly._

_ "I can't remember what to sing anymore…" he whimpered and Grimmjow growled. _

_ "What the fuck is wrong with you!" he exclaimed and Ulquiorra gave him the most pathetic pair of puppy-dog green eyes he could muster. "Jesus fuck Ulquiorra! You're so god damn annoying!" The fourth looked like he wanted to cry. _

_ Ichigo looked like he might cry as well, "I wanted to dance…" he sniveled. Ulquiorra turned his head to look at the orange haired shinigami and together they shared the most pathetic looking stare anyone had ever seen. _

_ "I don't know how much more of this I can take," Rukia muttered and Uryu sighed in response. _

_ "Hey guys," turning towards the television, they all responded to Chad's deep baritone of a voice. "There's a Lady Gaga CD in the stereo system, you want it on?" _

_ "For fucks sake, **yes**!" Grimmjow yelled. Ulquiorra and Ichigo smiled like little school girls. _

"He's smiling…" Orihime breathed as she watched the video.

"Shhhhh," Tatsuki shushed her best friend, her eyes never leaving the television.

_Play button pressed, the group was bombarded by the _actual_ "Bad Romance." _

_ "Dude, have you guys ever seen the video to this song?" Ichigo asked as he awkwardly started moving his drunken body to the beat. "It's damn hot!" Grimmjow started mimicking the orange haired shinigami and together they twitched out some kind of confuddled dance routine. Renji copied them soon after and it was only Ulquiorra who remained stationary. His eyes were strangely alert though and as the music reached its peak… _

_ "I **want** your **love**-**aaaan**, I **want** your _re_-venge; _You_ and _me_ could write a **baaad** _ro_mance!" bending forward for what all those watching could only assume was dramatics, the fourth started belting out the song along with the CD, his head flipping back up at one point, his hair thrown to the wind as he yelled into the beer bottle. "I **want** your **love**-**an**-**all**-**your** **love** is _re-_venge; _You_ and _me_ could write a **baaad** _ro_mance!"_

_ "They're really getting into this," Uryu muttered with raised eyebrows as he watched the four performers. "A little… too… into this…" _

_ "Weren't all the people in this video practically naked?" Grimmjow shouted over Ulquiorra's singing to Ichigo. The orange haired shinigami appeared thoughtful before he nodded. Apparently taking that as a cue, the two started an entirely new routine. _

_ "Yay, sexy striptease!" Rangiku exclaimed and clapped her hands together. _

_ "Um, Ichigo," Rukia sounded uneasy behind the camera, "maybe you should keep that…" Unbuttoning his vampire shirt, the strawberry tossed it to the side. "Or not…" Frowning at his rival's nakedness, Grimmjow took the challenge upon himself as well and lowered his pants to the ground before kicking them out of the way. _

_ "This… could get ugly…" Uryu had paled visibly as he watched the strippers before him. Renji was following suit and it wasn't long before they were practically wearing nothing, boxers being the newly desired fashion trend. _

_ "I don't _wanna_ be **frien**-"_

_ Crack._

_ "Hey guys…" Rukia sounded uneasy, "maybe you should get off the ta-"_

_ Cri-cri-_

_ "Uh oh," Standing, Uryu quickly vaulted to the back of the couch and out of harm's way._

_ "Shit." _

_ "?" _

_ "Fucking a-"_

_ Finally buckling under the weight of three grown men, the glass coffee table cracked right down the center, sending the teenagers plummeting to the carpet as it shattered beneath them. Like some kind of crystal avalanche, they collapsed into a debris ridden pile. _

_ "Oh shit," Rukia hissed behind the camera, giggling lightly as the three men stared around themselves from their new spots on the floor. They were all silent for a few moments, their intoxicated minds slowly digesting what had just happened. _

_ Grimmjow was the first to speak. _

_ "Harribel is going to be **pissed**," he stated as he picked tiny glass shards out of his palms. Ulquiorra had paled considerably and was wobbling back and forth on the floor, his eyes blinking dazedly. _

_ Then, with a suddenness none of them were expecting, he covered his mouth with his hand, jumped to his feet, and dove for the nearest bathroom where he was quite suddenly and violently sick. _

_ "I told you he couldn't hold his liquor," the sixth stated as Ichigo commenced in sweeping some of the glass shards away from his rear, apparently realizing that the situation could turn terrible if he sat the wrong way. _

"What… happened… to my _house_?" whipping their heads around, both Orihime and Tatsuki stared with wide eyes at the blonde woman now standing on the outskirts of the drunken crime scene.

Not good…

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Oh Grimmjow and Tatsuki, stupid teenagers. And then Grimmjow goes and gets drunk to finish things off, real smart, while Tatsuki has a mental breakdown.

Sorry, not a whole lot of Ulquihime, but I have to get some Grimmtat out of the way. I honestly am okay with that seeing as I love them more and more together as this story goes on. But that's just me. Either way, I've already written the next chapter and I can tell you for a fact that there's a serious revelation for Ulquiorra… and some more Grimmtat… but then we're pretty much done with their little miniarch.

I know, no more plot either. I honestly thought that this chapter and next one, and the one after _that_, would all be in the same installment, but that would be, like, sixty pages in one chapter LOL! So I've split it up.

Thank Lady Gaga for being Ulquiorra's drunken inspiration. There is a method behind my madness in choosing her (besides the fact that I love her). She is extremely popular internationally, thus it makes sense that our Japanese friends know who she is and have heard her music. See? I think these things through…

Though I find it interesting that they're all fans… well I suppose god (that being me in this case) can dictate a few things.

GO LADY GAGA!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. The next chapter is super fun, or so I think, so look forward to it.

Lover's Revenge!

Toodles

R&R PLEASE!


	18. Living Out the Lie

**The Definition of Love**

_"Just gonna **stand there** and **watch** me **burn**  
Well that's alright because I **like** the way it **hurts**  
Just gonna **stand there** and **hear** me **cry**  
Well that's alright because I **love** the way you **lie**  
I **love** the way you **lie**  
I **love** the way you **lie**_

__

Now I know we **said** things, **did** things, that we **didn't mean**  
And we fall back into the same **patterns**, same **routine**  
But your **temper's** just as **bad** as **mine** is  
You're the **same** as me  
When it comes to **love** you're just as **blinded**

_Baby **please** come back, it **wasn't you**. Baby it was **me**.  
Maybe our relationship isn't as **crazy** as it seems  
Maybe that's what happens when a **tornado** meets a **volcano**  
All I know is I **love** you too much to **walk away**"_

**_Love the Way You Lie - Eminem feat. Rihanna_**

**Chapter 18: Living Out the Lie**

"What… happened… to my _house_?" whipping their heads around, both Orihime and Tatsuki stared with wide eyes at the blonde woman now standing on the outskirts of the drunken crime scene. She looked tired, dark circles sweeping under her eyes, and in her hands were large Halloween bags filled with candy.

Both females quickly understood that they were not going to find out why Grimmjow was wearing the green tights, why Ichigo had put back on the cape, or anything else for that matter. No, now they both regretted having come over at all.

"Um…" Orihime paled as the hollow mother's livid green gaze darted to her, "we just got here so we don't know… what happened… exactly." It didn't seem to matter; the older woman was still glaring at them angrily.

Neither teenage girl knew what to do.

"_Harribel_, Nel said that-"

"Don't come in here Lilynette, Nel!" she snapped loudly before the two girls could even breach the kitchen. "Go back over to the Kurosaki house for a while. I'll come get you later." There was a bit of shuffling by the door, but it seemed that even the younger girls knew better then to question anything when the blonde woman used that tone. Soon enough the door opened and they were running down the street the way they had come.

"Stop yelling," one of the bodies in the living room ordered groggily, painfully (it sounded like Grimmjow), and Orihime swore she could see the clock ticking down against Harribel's forehead. Nostrils flaring, the blonde's lips tightened against the rest of her tanned face.

At first the girls thought she was going to say something in reply, but instead she merely walked to the large windows taking up one side of the wall and pulled the cord holding the huge drapes closed. As if even the house could sense her anger, the curtains snapped wide, sunlight streaming into the living room with a vengeance.

Pained yelling, moans, and groans echoed around the living room. Most of the body's immediacy jolted in response to the onslaught, heads being buried in the nearest surface. Chad and Uryu were the only two fully awake as they had been sleeping among the drapes, and they were standing, staring at the livid blonde with wide, scared eyes.

"Get up!" the older woman exclaimed as she stomped her way over to the center of the living room. "Everyone up _now_!" Turning his head to the side, both Orihime and Tatsuki watched as Grimmjow's eyes widened upon seeing Harribel. A muttered "shit" came off his lips and with a cowering kind of slowness he sat up. Pale as a ghost, the blue haired teenager looked like he either wanted to run or be sick.

The others slowly sat up as well, Ikkaku blushing profusely as he reached for the nearest article of clothing to cover himself up with. Ichigo was rubbing his temples painfully; apparently not aware of the danger they were all in. Ulquiorra was the only still asleep, buried deeply in his chair.

Upon seeing her younger son still in slumber, Harribel growled. Wary eyes watching her, the older woman stomped into the kitchen, threw open a cupboard, and pulled out a pitcher. Slamming it into the sink, she flicked the faucet into cold and filled the container. Once done, she stomped back into the living room and with a viciousness not at all expected, she dumped the ice-cold liquid right over Ulquiorra's head.

Orihime cringed, as did almost everyone else in the vicinity.

Surging forward, the forth gasped, his green eyes wide as his back bowed against the cold that now ran down his entire body.

"Who broke my table?" she was shaking with anger, her white-knuckled hand still clenching painfully around the handle of the pitcher. Ulquiorra shied away from her voice and stared up at her with nauseous eyes as his mother hen glanced at every single person in the room. Hands rose immediately from those that were innocent, the culprits made quite obvious as they shrank away from Harribel's heated gaze as one or more fingers was pointed at them.

"Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Ichigo," she hissed dangerously and the faces of each boy dropped considerably. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes before continuing. "I want this mess cleaned up. You will pick every single shard of glass out of my carpet with your bare hands." They gaped and her eyes popped open. "_Now_!" Surging forward, the three teenagers dove for the broken table, their dizzy hands working frivolously. "The rest of you," her green gaze pierced them all, "I want this house as clean as when I left by the time I come back!" Dropping the pitcher to the ground, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. Once finding it, she pulled it open with a jerk and left the house, a slam heard behind her.

"_Shit_!" Grimmjow whispered as soon as she was gone. "_Shit, shit, __**shit**_!"

"Brilliant idea," Ichigo accused as he glared at the blue haired teenager. "Let's all get drunk, _great_ idea."

"Shut up Kurosaki!"

"If you both do not shut your mouths," Ulquiorra muttered dangerously as he plucked glass up out of the carpet, "I _will_ kill you both." They could practically see the headache throbbing in the fourths face, thus they were all reminded of their hangovers as well.

Falling silent, everyone in the house aside from Orihime and Tatsuki were well at work.

It wasn't long however before a giggle reverberated around the room. Glancing up, every person in the room stared at Orihime, her hand held over her mouth. Tatsuki was smiling wide, her own mirth not breaching the level of her best friends, but not contained either.

Upon seeing her, Grimmjow paled more, if that was at all possible.

In the background the tape was still playing.

_"Man, I hate women," Grimmjow complained._

_"Really?" Ulquiorra's voice was strangely upbeat. "I love women."_

Turning to the television, the group watched in horror.

_"I mean, have you _seen_ my girlfriend?" the green eyed Espada continued. "She's like, the hottest thing I've ever seen, and I've seen _a lot_." Grimmjow's blue head nodded in agreement and even Ichigo seemed to consider the prospect thoughtfully._

_"Yeah, Orihime is pretty hot," the orange haired shinigami agreed._

_"Ichigo!" Rukia hissed from behind the camera. His head snapped up to look at her (and the camera), a goofy smile forming on his flushed face upon finding her standing before him._

_"Hey Rukia!" he laughed and waved at her. She sighed angrily._

_"That's what I'm sayin'," Ulquiorra insisted. "Even back in Las Noches she was hot." Grimmjow kept nodding before a thoughtful expression crossed his face. Staring at his brother, he furrowed his brows._

_"Have you banged her yet?"_

"Okay then," Grimmjow stated uneasily as he turned away from the television. It was about this time that the screen went blank and a dejected "ohhh" echoed around the living room.

"I will just… turn this off," Ulquiorra muttered as he pulled the tape out of the VCR. Staring down at the offending cassette, he brought it to his knee and with little to no effort, broke it in half.

"Hey!" Tatsuki exclaimed, her best friend gaping like a fish next to her. "I wanted to watch that!" The fourth glared up at her, giving her a look that pretty much stated that he never would have let that happen. "Oh well," the karate champion sighed, apparently dejected. "At least we saw that 'Bad Romance' performance."

"What?" Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows.

"Oh snap," Ichigo turned away and started picking up glass again, "he doesn't remember." Laughter echoed around the room.

"Remember what?" the green eyed teenager asked hastily and didn't receive a reply. "What happened?" A few skeptical glances were thrown around the living area as the party goers slowly got back to work. Glaring down at the video tape, Ulquiorra suddenly wished he _hadn't_destroyed it.

"Get your ass back down here and help," Grimmjow commanded irritably. "It's pretty much your fault this thing is broken. If you hadn't started jumping around on it then none of the rest of us would have gotten the idea in our heads." Ulquiorra glared at his older brother.

"I did no such thing," he stated firmly.

"Yes you did," Orihime giggled and her boyfriend glanced over at her. His face dropped, she'd seen the tape, she knew. Throwing the broken contraption to the floor, the fourth bent back down to help Ichigo and Grimmjow with the pieces of Harribel's expensive, European, one-of-a-kind coffee table.

**oOo**

Huffing his way up the stairs, Ulquiorra closed his eyes as the world spun around him. He just wanted to get to his bed, to dry clothes, to darkness. Instead he'd had to crawl around on the floor for an hour with Grimmjow and Ichigo. They'd then had the fine idea of merely using the vacuum cleaner to get what they couldn't see imbedded in the carpet.

He'd wanted to rip his head off.

They all had really. The damn thing had been _so loud_! And grating! And completely and utterly nauseating! Both Ichigo and Ulquiorra had been severely sick only thirty seconds into listening to it. Grimmjow had had to operate it, and even _he_ was slightly green afterwards.

The living room was spick-and-span to say the least, and everyone had collapsed in one way or another, or were sitting in the kitchen trying to ingest some kind of food. Harribel hadn't come back yet, and for that the fourth was grateful. She no doubt had an earful for them.

He did feel bad for Grimmjow though. As soon as they'd finished cleaning up, he'd had no choice but to acknowledge Tatsuki, which had been awkward. The fourth didn't know what they were going to talk about, but they'd gone outside together.

A hangover was one thing. A hangover and girl problems was worse.

Speaking of which, _his_ had been chattering on behind him for some time now. She'd noticed his queasiness and had insisted on following up to his room to make sure he got there. And as he opened his door and stumbled towards his bed, she kept on going.

And _going_.

"- and then I walked in and Tatsuki was _crying_! Can you believe that?" he leaned his hand against the end of his bed in an effort to support his aching body, his eyes closing painfully. "Tatsuki never cries! I mean, I don't think I've ever seen her cry, before that anyway, and me and her have been best friends _forever_! How upset was Grimmjow? Is that why you guys got drunk? Ichigo said it was Grimmjow's idea. I'm actually surprised _you_ decided to drink. You don't seem like the type. Why did-"

"Woman," his voice cut through her chatter and she stopped, her eyebrows raised. Turning, the fourth faced her, his eyes bloodshot beneath unclean black locks. "Don't take this the wrong way. I love you, really I do, but your voice is unusually high and it is very painful at this moment in time." She had paled. "Not that I do not like hearing your voice. I quite like it really, but this situation is not the appropriate time." Why was she still staring at him like she'd seen a ghost?

"Wh- what did you just say?" she sputtered, her hand going to her chest. Ulquiorra sighed and rubbed his temples. He could hardly remember what he'd said. Maybe he just needed to be more straight forward with her.

"I asked you to shut your mouth Woman," he hissed as he stared longingly at his bed. He didn't mean to be short with her, but could she not see that he was in pain? She was usually very intuitive about these things.

"Before that," she breathed and he furrowed his eyebrows at her. She was still pale, her eyes wide. Was she really that offended by what he'd said? What _had_ he said before that? If he couldn't remember than it must not have been of much importance.

What had he said?

"Woman, I don't…" he sighed and forced his brain to backtrack. "All I said was that I did not want you to take my asking you to be quiet the wrong way. And then I…" jaw dropping, he felt his breath catch in his throat as his statement replayed in his head. Green eyes widening, he slowly comprehended why she was looking at him with such paleness.

The room began to spin and with a dizzying kind of wobble he began to lose his balance. Grabbing hold of the end of his bed, he held back the vomit dropping up from his stomach as his brain threatened to pour out his ears.

"Ulquiorra!" she rushed forward and grabbed his arm as he nearly toppled over. Her firm hold on him allowed him to close his eyes. Taking a deep breath, his world slowly began to right itself, though the balance was precarious. One wrong move and he's be spewing his guts all over the floor. "Are you alright?" she whispered, obviously concerned.

Deciding it was safe to open his eyes, the fourth stared down at her. Her face was only inches from his, and despite how fuzzy his brain was, her image was as clear as day. It always would be he realized. And so would something else.

"I love you," he breathed and her own breath caught as she stared up at him. He blinked a few times as the words rolled off his tongue. "I'm in love with you."

No, it was too much. His exhausted brain couldn't handle it. With a gaping mouth she watched him as his grasp on the bed loosened. Eyes rolling, the floor fell out from beneath him, the ceiling riding up on his vision like some terrible empty shroud.

**oOo**

The cool air was extremely sobering and it cleared his brain a little. There was still a lot of wooziness, but his stomach wasn't so warm now. He hated hangovers and would honestly prefer to be sleeping. Then again, he'd probably prefer anything to this currently. He was no good with women's emotions.

He could hardly control his own most of the time.

Like some kind of silent agreement, they'd left his house and walked some ways down the street until they'd exited the neighborhood. It didn't surprise him that they'd ended up at the same bridge she'd confronted him at only two weeks before. Though at that time he'd been dealing with his own problems, problems he was still dealing with. Now he had those _and_ her to add to the equation too.

Leaning his elbows on the bridge's wall, he frowned at the clouds that were rolling across the horizon. They were both wearing heavier clothes than the night before, the temperature had dropped considerably. He sported his heavy winter coat, a big puffy black thing. She in turn wore a sleek leather button up jacket. Aside from the color, the two styles were rather opposite.

Wind blowing, she propped herself up next to him, her short black locks like wisps in the wind. The water was fierce below them, antagonizing them. Patronizing them.

"So you guys got really trashed last night," she stated. Glancing at her out of the corner of his blue eyes, he couldn't tell if she was angry or just trying to start conversation. It didn't matter either way he supposed.

"Yeah, well, Kurosaki's too innocent for his own good and Ulquiorra needs to stop being such a tight-ass," he sighed. "Though I think all those other shinigami party a little too much for their own good." She "hmfed" next to him. "Probably would have been a better party if you'd stuck around."

Brown eyes flashed up to meet blue.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she spat out hastily, not sure what he was implying.

"What does it mean?" he chuckled and gazed back out across the water. "It means I enjoy your company." She considered his words for a few moments before scoffing and shaking her head.

"Yeah," she sounded bitter, "I'm sure you do." Narrowed blue eyes stared down at her as she turned to lean her spine against the wall, the wind pressing against the back of her neck. His lips tightened as he felt anger start to well up in his chest.

"Why are you so pissed off?" he questioned shortly. "_You're_ the one that walked out on _me_. The rest of the night could have been great and instead you just left like nothing had even happened." She growled.

"The rest of the night could have been 'great?'" she snapped and stood up straight, her own livid gaze rearing up on his. "Maybe, Grimmjow, I didn't want to have a 'great' night with you, okay? Is that a crime? Is it so terrible that I just wanted to go home?"

"Yeah, it is," his snarky reply caused her anger to only spring brighter. "I thought it had started out pretty damn well, and I _know_ you did too, so I don't get why you couldn't just let it finish out that way." She pursed her lips, her nostrils flaring.

"What does that even mean?" she hissed.

"What the fuck do you think it means?"

"I don't know!" she yelled. "That's why I'm asking you!" He glared at her and she glared back. "You keep saying the rest of the night could have been something… amazing, but what does that mean?"

"It could have meant anything you wanted it to Babe," he replied, a slight seductiveness entering his voice despite the bitterness fueling it. "But I guess you'll never know since you didn't stick around to find out." Gulping, she held back the tears that threatened to flow out her eyes.

"Do you think this is funny?" she whispered. "Was it just some missed opportunity for you? Because I can tell you then that we are on very different wavelengths here." He crossed his arms over his chest and puzzled out what she was trying to say.

"Missed opportunity?" he questioned, a single blue eyebrow raised at her in offense. "I'm pretty sure we both took full advantage of 'opportunity' Chickie, so I don't know what you're yelling at _me_ about." His blue eyes glittered angrily. "Yet you sound like your accusing me of doing something wrong. If you got something to say to me then just say it."

"You are so irritating," she fumed, her hands shaking. Shoving them into the pockets of her coat, she refused to look upset. "I'm not some 'great time' you could have had last night, okay? Last night was a mistake!" He raised his eyebrows skeptically and she stared down at the ground, her head shaking. "I don't know why I ever wanted anything to do with you."

"Excuse me?" he took a step towards her and she whipped her head up at him. "What the fuck is _that_ suppose to mean?"

"What does it mean?" she rebuked back. "It means I'm not some… some 'prey' of yours, some territory to be conquered. Maybe last night didn't mean anything to you, but it's not exactly what I had imagined my… If you want some woman that you can have your way with anytime you want, then find somebody else!"

His lip curled up, rage jumping into his blue gaze as the corners of his eyes crinkled.

"Is that what you think of me?" he hissed and took another step closer to her. Brown eyes widening, she refused to back down as he stuck his face in hers. "Do you really think that lowly of me?" She didn't answer and his lips tightened. "Answer me!" he shouted.

"Back off!" she issued as his voice rang loudly in her ears.

"No!" he yelled back and she blinked, but didn't flinch. "You don't even know me yet you've made these… disgusting assumptions about me. You think I'm honestly going to **bang** any girl who offers herself up on a silver platter?" Did he think _she_ had done that? "Well that's fuckin' **great**!" leaning up, he took two steps back. "Just _god__damn _**perfect**!"

Turning to face the water again, he slammed his fists down on the stone wall of the bridge.

"_**Fuck**_!" he roared out at the sky and she flinched slightly. Turning back to her, his narrowed eyes were awash with his temper. "How the **fuck**am _I_ supposed to convince **myself** that I'm not a monster if everyone else _thinks_ I am?" Shaking his head, he turned back to the water, his chest heaving up and down dangerously.

She in turn could feel the air inside her lungs shuddering. Clenching her fists, she closed her eyes tightly, hoping to once again subdue the tears that were crawling out her eyes. She was failing though, and her throat tightened as one shivered down her cheek.

"This isn't about you," she whispered and he peered over at her quickly.

"What?" he questioned testily.

"_**I said this isn't about you**_!" she shrieked and had the sudden urge to chuck something at him. She honestly considered taking off her shoes and doing so. A chair would have been best for his thick skull to bounce off of. "You are so self-centered!" she continued as more tears streamed down her cheeks. "All you can think about is why I left, like I was doing it to **spite** you or something!" She could feel her breath becoming choked, her whole body trembling as she stared desperately up at him. "Didn't it ever occur you that maybe I left because I was_scared_?" She shook her head and backed away from him a few paces.

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly.

"I was…" she glanced out over the river, her eyes blurring dangerously. "I'd never… done anything like that before," her admission caused him to raise his eyebrows and she did her best to avoid his gaze. "How was I supposed to react?" she shook her head and smiled bitterly. "No girl wants her fist time to be in a strange room with a guy she barely knows. With a guy that doesn't give a damn about her." His mouth fell open as her lip started to tremble. Hugging her arms around her body, a new wave of tears erupted and dropped down her face. "What kind of a woman does that?" She gulped, her voice just barely loud enough to reach his keen ears. "You said it yourself that I barely know you, so why… why did I…" She covered her mouth with her hand as an uncontrollable sob twisted her entire body. "Why did I give myself up to you like some… some dirty whore?" Her voice was a cry now, arms wrapped around her middle as if she could somehow keep the volcano inside her contained, keep in dormant.

Sweeping forward, the blue haired teenager set a quick hand on her shoulder.

She shied away from him.

"Please," she begged. "Please don't touch me, just leave me alone." Her voice was desperate, beyond desperate, and she could feel her knees buckling beneath her, turning to nothing as her emotions pushed a dizzying kind of nausea into her aching skull.

She curled away from him, looking smaller and smaller by the second. Blue eyes widening, he reached for her again. His finger tips barely brushed her shoulders.

"_**Don't touch me**_!" she screeched, her hands coming up to smack him away with a vengeance that was beyond what she thought herself capable at that moment. "_**I hate you**_!" And as she took another step back, her foot tripped and she nearly lost her balance.

She was so confused. She didn't know what she was doing anymore or why. She felt used despite how she had used him in turn. She felt betrayed even though there had been no one to betray her. It didn't make any sense. Her world had been perfect until he'd shown up, and now it was completely wrong. Everywhere she looked there were reminders of what she'd done, the act that wasn't really so bad yet was ripping her apart.

And every time he touched her she remembered how he had touched her the night before, and she couldn't, refused, to accept that. He had destroyed her, consumed her; he wouldn't be her savior as well. She could save herself.

No matter how much she wanted him, she didn't need him. No matter how her body needed him, she didn't want him. She didn't!

She didn't, she didn't, **she didn't**!

Her foot fell on its side, her entire body collapsing like a ragdoll. Her vision was blurred against her own despair, yet even as she fell, she could see him before her, arms reaching out to catch her.

Why? Why should he catch her? Why should she _let_ him?

Why couldn't he just let her fall…?

"_**Get away from me**_!" she screamed as his large arms started to encircle her small frame. And even as he held her up, she fought him. Lashing out, her arms thrashed him, her nails clawed him. Desperate, she used what little energy she had left to push against him. But her strength was gone; alas she didn't stand a chance against him. Like some broken animal, he pulled her closer, his hands seizing her arms to stop her flailing.

Bending away from him in a last attempt at escape, she realized it was futile. Mouth gasping for air, she could taste the bitter salt of her tears, the only thing she'd been able to taste since she'd run from his lips. Everything else was ash.

Yet he saved her.

Arms caught in his grasp, he leaned forward and slammed his lips into hers. As if sweet life were suddenly being breathed into her, she took a deep gasp, his intent mouth pushing past her defenses once again. She didn't stand a chance against him; she'd given in before he'd even started. Tears mixed with longing invaded her mouth, his control over her infinite, undeniable.

And she continued to cry.

"I don't know where you got these stupid ideas," he muttered, annoyed, as he broke away from her. Dropping her arms, he wrapped his own limbs around her small frame. "You're not a whore," she buried her face against his chest as he continued. "And I'm sorry it wasn't how you imagined it would be. I honestly didn't even know you were that… inexperienced. You certainly didn't act like it." He sighed. "This is _not_ what I wanted to deal with along with a hangover this morning."

"You're an asshole," she muttered against him, his warmth bringing a kind of comfort to her shivering form. She could feel his steady heartbeat inside his chest, a constant despite the chaos reigning supreme inside her.

"I know," he replied shortly. "If you want a knight in shining armor then go talk to Kurosaki, he's a sucker for being a hero." He tightened his hold on her. "I'm supposed to be the monster, remember?"

"Are you insinuating that I'm a damsel in distress?" she asked quietly, "because you would be very mistaken. I don't need to be rescued or-"

"_Shut up_," he drawled and rolled his eyes. "You're so defensive all the time. I swear it's like you got a stick up your ass or something." He smirked. "I could help you with that, you know, by the way."

Sighing, she pulled away from him, her brown eyes glaring fiercely up at him.

"Don't look like that, you know you want to. I saw your face last night, you can't convince me otherwise," he smiled wider and she gave him the most unenthused look she could muster. Raising his hand to her cheek, he wiped what remained of her tears away. "And stop crying," his smile vanished and was replaced by a tight frown. "It's pissing me off."

She pushed him away while shaking her head.

"You are such a dick," she stated and turned as she headed back down the street the way they had come. Frowning more deeply, he bounded after her, his hand slipping around her waist possessively as he pulled her to his side.

"And you're a bitch," he stated as they walked. "But you're my bitch now so get used to it."

She sighed.

And smiled.

**oOo**

"I didn't know you smoked," Ichigo stated as he leaned back on the porch, his arms set back as supports for his aching body.

"I don't," the blue haired teenager replied as he blew smoke out of his mouth, a half burned cigarette held firmly between his fingers. The shinigami raised his eyebrows skeptically. "I feel like shit Kurosaki," he stated as he glanced over at the orange haired individual. "So I like to relieve stress with an old habit once in a while, sue me." He stuck the contraption back in his mouth.

"When did you smoke before?" his companion asked curiously and the sixth let loose an exasperated sigh.

"Back when we first ended up here, I got into a lot of bad habits," he started. "Drugs, alcohol, shit like that." he motioned to the cigarette, "shit like this." Taking the now burned up stick from his lips; he dropped it to the ground and turned his heel into it. "Urahara said that if I didn't get my act together he'd kick me out, and, well, after one last drunken night where I made Ulquiorra get trashed with me, I gave it up."

"Just like that?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his face. It had taken his father a lot of pain and time to stop smoking. He couldn't honestly believe it was that easy.

"I'd only been doing it for, like, four months, if that," the sixth stated with a shrug. "Plus I felt like shit half the time anyway, what was one more kind of sickness to add to the mix?" Sighing, the blue haired teenager leaned back as Ichigo was, his eyes staring up at the sky.

"You're pathetic," the shinigami shook his head.

"I know," Grimmjow replied before he stared over at Ichigo. "The fuck are you still here anyway?" He was referring to the orange haired teenager's current residence at the hollow house. Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Uryu, and Chad had vacated about an hour after cleaning up. Rukia was inside with Orihime and Tatsuki, talking or some bullshit, and Renji was still passed out on the couch. Ulquiorra in turn was passed out upstairs. Kurosaki was now fully functional, he could have left.

"Well I have this funny feeling that your mom is over at my house," he appeared severely uncomfortable. "She kind of scares me a little bit." Grimmjow guffawed loudly, his laughter echoing piercingly around the front yard.

"You and me both," he stated as he pulled another cigarette out of the pack and lit it up. Turning to Ichigo, he held the packet out. The end of one stick reared its ugly head at the shinigami. Brows furrowed, the strawberry contemplated the offer before slowly pulling the cigarette from the pack. "Here," Grimmjow tossed him the lighter and it was received skillfully by his companion.

"You're a terrible influence, you know that?" Ichigo muttered as he clumsily stuck the stick in his mouth and lit up. Tossing the lighter back over to Grimmjow, he took a stupid breath and immediately started coughing as smoke filtered down his throat.

The blue haired teenager laughed some more.

"Got to try everything once Fuckberry," he replied as Ichigo got his breathing under control. Once he had, he was careful not to make the same mistake. "Just don't get addicted and you'll be fine." Ichigo stared at the sixth skeptically.

"I thought you could get addicted after only one," he argued. Despite this, he continued to puff, smoke blowing out of his mouth into the cool air as he let loose another short cough. Grimmjow shrugged in reply, either not having known that or simply not caring.

"Our systems aren't nearly as weak as your average human's," the larger man rebuked, "if you hadn't noticed." Ichigo scoffed, but didn't say anything. They fell silent momentarily, a few dead leaves blowing through the yard before Grimmjow glanced over at his companion again.

"What?" Ichigo asked gruffly and the blue haired teenager turned away again.

"I think I'm going to go to Urahara's tonight," he admitted with another puff. "I'm tired of this bullshit human weakness… and I think I can take my hollow." The shinigami seemed skeptical as he glanced at his rival out of the corner of his eye.

"What are you going to fight it with?" he asked and received no reply. The younger sighed. "Listen Grimmjow, you heard what Shinji said before; your hollow is like mine, right? I mean I could have told you that, I only fought with it three times."

"You act like I'm a completely different person," Grimmjow stated bitterly, quietly.

"Aren't you?" he asked though he didn't really expect an answer. He continued. "My hollow is kind of an asshole," he started and earned a blue gaze on his face. "He's always going on about kings and horses and bullshit, it's damn annoying really."

"He talks to you?"

"More so than I'd like," he replied. "He can probably hear me right now, he can probably see you. He's always around." Grimmjow turned back to the yard, his gaze thoughtful as Ichigo shrugged. "Anyway, he's a real prick, but he's not an idiot." The orange haired individual puffed a large cloud of smoke into the air. "He once told me that a king and his horse have one strict difference, animal instinct. He said that if the king couldn't find that difference in himself, his horse would kick him off and take over instead." He sighed. "Pretty much he said that if I was weak he'd take over in the blink of an eye."

"_You're being so sentimental Ichigo_," the shinigami furrowed his brows as laughter echoed around in his head. "_And here I thought you hated my guts._" Grimmjow noticed his silence and turned to stare at his rival. "_Tell Grimmjow to say hello to his hollow for me, we had a great time last time we met._"

"I'm not going to tell him that," the orange haired shinigami grumbled and earned a bewildered look from his companion. "Never mind." Grimmjow shrugged. "What I'm trying to say is that you can't go in there with any kind of doubt, which is why you have to know what to bring to the table." Leaning forward, Ichigo set his arms across his knees. "My hollow argues that you don't need a reason to fight and that my weakness derives from me wanting to find a reason. At the time, he was right." Pause. "But even though I found out that there was a part of me that wanted to fight, that loved fighting, I had to find a base reason for doing it. If I didn't then I'd be no better than my hollow, he'd consume me.

"So, I fight to protect," he shrugged again. "Sometimes it's to protect my friends, my family. Other times, like when I fought you, it was to protect my pride. Either way, I'm always protecting something, which is what stops me from going insane with the battle lust." Eyes going to the ground, he seemed suddenly dejected. "It's still not completely reliable though. When I fought Ulquiorra, my drive to protect Inoue backfired and my hollow took over anyway." None of the three of them, four now he supposed, ever talked about that incident. No one else other than those involved knew what had happened up there. "I betrayed my own friends to do what I had set out to do. And my hollow tried to destroy everyone and everything that got in his way." Surprisingly, Grimmjow was listening patiently. "You have to have a balance, because even in death your hollow will dominate you if you lose hope."

"You lost hope?"

"Well yeah," Ichigo laughed. "Ulquiorra had punched a huge hole through my chest, course I gave up." He shook his head. "But Inoue was yelling for me, so when I was unable to rise to do the job, my hollow did instead."

"Even in death huh?" Grimmjow pondered.

"Yup," Ichigo replied simply. "So that's why you can't give up, you can't stop pushing through no matter how hopeless it seems. How do you think I got as far as I did fighting you guys?" Grimmjow scoffed and they fell silent momentarily as Grimmjow stomped his cigarette out on the ground. Disgusting habit. "So… what are you going to protect?"

The sixth paused in his actions; his eyes staring straight ahead into the yard. The moment lasted only a few seconds though before he finished smashing the stick into the ground. Standing, he shoved his hands into his pockets and stomped up the stairs to the door.

Ichigo watched was he slipped inside.

Shrugging, the shinigami twisted his own cigarette out before following.

**oOo**

"You think you're ready?" Grimmjow hated this guy. He hated his overly defined teeth, his patronizing attitude, his short yellow hair. He was more annoying than Fuckberry. "And why exactly should I believe you?"

"You don't have to believe me," the blue haired teenager stated lazily, he wouldn't let this stupid vizard get to him. "I didn't come here to be questioned by you, I came here to get stronger and that's all there is to it." The group of ex-shinigami laughed and he glowered up at them.

"He sounds just like Ichigo," a short blonde one stated and the sixth did his best to pull in his anger. The one of which she spoke was the only person other than Urahara, who had escorted him down below his shop to the training area and the vizards, that knew what he was doing. He'd originally wanted to go later that evening, but with Harribel being gone, he didn't see why he should wait. Better to just get it done with as few other people involved as possible, or so he figured.

So, simply stating that he was going out, he'd left. Probably wasn't the best time to tackle this seeing as his head was still throbbing, but he didn't care.

"Teach me," he demanded irritably, his hands forming fists at his sides as he stared up at the audience scrutinizing him. They were sitting lazily around on the cliffs that spotted the large expanse below the candy store.

"Yup, just like Ichigo," Shinji grinned wider and Grimmjow growled. "Well if you say you're ready then I'll believe you. You've had time to figure this all out and if you're not ready," the blonde man shrugged, "we'll just end up killing you. No loss to us really." The sixth took a deep breath.

He was more than ready.

"Then I'll get started," Urahara smiled up under his hat. "The first part of this should be fairly easy for you. You're already familiar with your zanpakuto, you know its name, its power, its personality. Finding your power should be simple if not instinctive." He clicked his way closer to Grimmjow. "Because there's already a hollow inside you, you don't have to go through the hollowfication process that Ichigo did. We'll go through the same process with you as we did with Karin, simply break the soul chain and send you back and around through soul society and back here. That should awaken your shinigami powers. After that-"

"Can we just get on with it?" Grimmjow growled impatiently. "I'm ready for anything; you don't need to give me all this scientific mumbo-jumbo." Urahara frowned, his eyes sharp and staring into the blue haired teenager. Grimmjow didn't seem to notice though, he was glancing around the training area curiously, distracted.

"Fine," the scientist stated. Walking forward, he raised his cane and placed the end over Grimmjow's heart. With a tap, Grimmjow's human body fell deserted to the ground.

**oOo**

"I can't believe youOnii-san," Karin taunted as she came up behind the group sitting around the area where there had once been a glass table. Like some kind of parade the entire Kurosaki household had marched into the house along with the rest of the hollow family. "I didn't know you were such a bad kid." The dark haired girl ruffled his hair and he glared, annoyed, at his little sister.

"I can't believe you broke her table," Yuzu was staring at her older bother with the most disappointed eyes he'd ever seen. He felt suddenly very ashamed.

"Grimmjow and Ulquiorra helped…" he muttered as he glanced over at the now conscious fourth Espada. He was sitting across from Ichigo next to Orihime, though for some odd reason the two were quieter than usual, submerged in their own thoughts.

"Where is Grimmjow?" Lilynette questioned as she plopped herself down on the couch next to Renji. Ichigo stared at the floor, not answering. He knew where the sixth was and for whatever reason his rival hadn't told anyone else. The orange haired shinigami wasn't going to rat him out.

"All he told us was that he was going out," Tatsuki replied with an angry frown. "He left about an hour ago." Harribel huffed, her arms crossing under her breasts as she stalked over to the large windows adorning the huge wall of the living room. The sliding door that lead out into the yard from said room had been opened to filter out the smell of alcohol and a light breeze blew some leaves in past her.

"I can't believe that boy," she muttered. "I should have known he'd leave as soon as he could. Well he'd better take advantage of his freedom because as soon as he comes back he's grounded to the house for the next three months." Ulquiorra sighed as this was probably his punishment as well, his frown deepening.

Ichigo glanced up at his father hopefully. The older man crossed his arms over his chest and stared accusingly at his son. The orange haired shinigami's shoulder's slumped in turn. He didn't even want to know what _his_ punishment was so instead he focused his attention on Nel as the little girl crawled up the couch and sat next to him, her chatter hardly understandable as she attached herself to his arm.

"And don't think you two are excluded either," Isshin started, his gaze going from Rukia to Renji. "You live in my house and so long as you do that you're partial to punishment as well." The two of them gaped. "I don't care whether you're my children or not, I'm much older than you and you will suffer the same consequences as Ichigo. If you don't cooperate I'll tell Byakuya and he can deal with you." The two were struck speechless and Ichigo snickered. Angrily, his girlfriend glared up at him and smacked him hard on the arm.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Isshin leaned closer to Ichigo, his nose grazing his son's hair. His lips tightened.

"Ichigo," his voice was low, angry, "have you been _smoking_?" The young shinigami paled, his eyes widening. The rest of the eyes in the room drifted to him until he was being scrutinized from every angle.

"Grimmjow made me do it," he squeaked and Harribel gaped.

"_Grimmjow_ has been smoking?" she hissed venomously and Ichigo shrank back in his chair. "That boy… I swear when he gets home I'm going to wring his neck."

"Grimmjow smokes?" Tatsuki questioned, her face scrunching up in repulsion. "That's disgusting."

"Exactly," Rukia crossed her arms over her chest as she glanced her significant other up and down, her expression very disapproving.

"He doesn't," Ichigo explained hastily, he had to fix this. "It's not a regular thing, I swear. He said it was because he was hung over and that he felt like crap. Then he offered me one and-"

"So he didn't 'make' you?" Isshin asked and Ichigo gaped like a fish out of water as his father smirked down in him. "You took it willingly." Head dropping, the teenager decided it was probably best if he just stopped talking. He was only making things worse.

"I can't believe you two," Harribel fumed as Karin and Lilynette giggled. "First drinking, then smoking? What were you thinking?" Gulping, Ichigo didn't dare look up at her. He felt terrible as it was, but their scolding made him sink even lower. Stupid Grimmjow, this was all his fault. He was a good kid before the sixth had shown up.

"Well I hope you know better now," Isshin stated. "If you don't then it will be your funeral kid, smoking is a nasty habit." Green gaze drifting from Ichigo to Isshin, no one missed the way Harribel narrowed her eyes at the older man as he ended his speech.

"Is that all you're going to say to him?" she hissed and Ichigo's father glanced up at her, eyebrows raised. She looked like she wanted to strangle him. "He's under age, he's been drinking, he's been smoking, _and_ he destroyed a very expensive piece of furniture, and that's all you have to say to him?"

"What else am I supposed to say?" the older man questioned, though no one missed the way he had narrowed his eyes at the blonde Espada. Apparently he felt she was overstepping her bounds. "He knows what he did wrong."

"What else?" she laughed shortly. "Is this how you've been raising them?" Ichigo gaped, only this time in as much offense as his father. Who was this woman to say things like that? "I can't believe this." Turning away from him, she looked about to leave, but Isshin stopped her.

"Excuse me _Tia_," he started, his voice strained, "but I don't know why you think you have the right to judge my parenting skills. Last I knew I've been a parent a lot longer than you have." Turning on him, they all stared in surprise at the vicious look she was now giving the Kurosaki head of house.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she hissed dangerously. "So don't tell me what I have the right to do because you have no idea what you're saying." Stomping up to him, she stuck her face right in his. Ichigo's eyes widened. In his whole life there'd only been one woman with enough nerve to talk to his father like that, and she was dead. She was the most wonderful woman Ichigo had ever known, but she'd also had a raving temper when angry at his father. As far as the orange haired shinigami could tell, Isshin was the only person able to pull such anger from her, and by the shocked look on Ulquiorra's face, the same could be said for Harribel. "I'm more experienced than you know and I won't tolerate such a lax attitude towards discipline."

Isshin's mouth fell open and he scoffed.

"Excuse me?" he stared down at her, fire in his eyes. "I'm pretty sure how I handle this situation is none of your business. My children should not be a worry of yours and-"

"_Your_ children?" she snapped, her nostrils flaring, her lips tightening. "Your _children_…" They could all see it on her face; she wanted to say something yet was holding it back with all her strength. Finally, hands clenched at her side, she gave in to a growl. "You are so oblivious," she spat and turned away from him.

Isshin narrowed his gaze at her and grabbed her arm before she could leave him.

"_What_ is your proble-"

With a vengeance that no one had ever anticipated, the blonde whipped around and slapped Ichigo's father across the cheek, hard. With an ear shattering smack, the older man's head jerked to the side as he stumbled backwards.

Every person in the room was watching the exchange in stunned silence.

"I don't have the patience to deal with you right now," she hissed as she ripped her arm from Isshin's grasp. Gulping hard, she turned away from him, but no one missed the way tears had momentarily welled up in her eyes.

Ichigo was _beyond_ confused.

Isshin was completely enraged.

"You don't have the patience to deal with _me_?" he rubbed his cheek, his lips curling up. "Who the hell are _you_ to 'deal' with me? I'm pretty sure you started this and-"

"_**Shut up**_!" she shrieked as her hands went to her head, her fingers burrowing into her hair. "Just shut up Isshin! For once in your life will you just shut your mouth? You're always shoving your nose in places it doesn't need to be! Haven't you learned anything in the last eight years? I can't handle this right now so just-"

Stepping forward, the older man grabbed her by the shoulder and forcibly turned her body towards his, their eyes meeting as silence enveloped the room. Isshin's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening to the size of saucers as all the color drained from his face. He was seeing something Ichigo realized, something that none of the rest of them could comprehend.

What the hell was going on?

Shoving him away from her, Harribel backed up and turned towards the windows, her arms crossed under her breasts. Isshin in turn stared at her with his mouth slightly agape, his hands shaking as he stared at the blonde woman now facing away from him.

Eyebrows furrowing, the older man started to shake his head in what the rest of them could only comprehend as disbelief.

"You," he pointed at her and she in turn tensed. "You are…"

"Don't say it, it's not true," she stated bitterly. "It's not what you think." Her whole body shuddered, a shiver running through her as the chilling wind whipped through the open door and struck her. "It's not the same as before… I'm not…"

"You are," Isshin breathed. "You'er… you're-"

Like some terribly suffocating tidal wave, the air collapsed in on top of them, all their heads whipping up to stare at the sky. It was a spearhead, the source of the disruption barreling towards them. They didn't need to see him to know he was coming.

Ichigo stood, his nostrils flaring, his hands turning to fists.

He knew that reiatsu, oh yes, he knew it _very_ well.

Very well _indeed_.

**oOo**

Clenching his fists, the sixth grinned that trademark sadistic smile, his nails digging into his flesh. Had he been a human, he would have drawn blood.

In his other hand he clenched more fiercely the blue hilt of a zanpakuto. It was a shining beacon of power below the artificial sun showering the area. It wove into him, its familiar presence wrapping up around his arm like a soft caress. Yes, Pantera was purring for him once again.

It didn't matter that he was wearing a black kimono instead of white, the power was the same. It encompassed his whole body and as he closed his eyes, he took a deep breath, the smell of his own reiatsu surging through him with its own pulse. Yes, he savored it, this amazing return to power.

He drank it in, drowned in it.

He _loved_ it.

Blinking his blue gaze open once again, he laughed, laughed like a mad man, laughed in a way that only the insanity of power could grant. Yes, insanity. He was drunk on it, on this amazing feeling of sheer, raw, and unbendable force. It built in him, shot through each of his limbs. He needed to release it, he _wanted_ to.

"Grimmjow!" Shinji called angrily as all the vizards formed a circle around him. He glanced at them out of blinded blue eyes. He didn't want to deal with them; he had a more important target on his mind.

Yeah, it was time to roll.

"Shit!" the short blonde vizard swore as he flashed out of their sight, out of the training area, out of their control. "Where the hell does he think he's going?"

"It doesn't matter," Shinji glowered. "We need to follow him; he doesn't know how unstable he is." The other vizards were livid and Urahara shook his head. Stupid boy.

**oOo**

"Ichigo?" Rukia called his name as he pulled the substitute shinigami badge from his pants pocket. With an excited punch, he forced his soul from his body. It fell to the carpet, empty, as he flashed out the open door. "Ichigo!"

Standing and rushing outside after him, every person that had been in the hollow house stared at the sky as a thunderstorm rang out above.

Swinging his sword down hard, Ichigo grimaced as a thin silver zanpakuto parried the blow with ease, the force of it sending him scraping across the sky. He only managed to catch a glimpse of blue, a hint of sadistic white teeth, before he felt that catlike form coming down on him from above. Raising his huge sword above his head, he couldn't stop the force that threw him out of the sky.

He knew he wouldn't hit the ground though. Turning mid fall, he swung his blade with enough force to sever the particles of energy in the air, a static swish following his movement as his blade once again sparked against his rivals.

"Catch you by surprise?" Grimmjow hissed as he leaned towards Ichigo, his blue eyes sparkling. Their swords screamed against each other, screeching out their pained battle lust as each man fought for the upper hand.

"Hardly," the orange haired shinigami rebuked and pushed against the blue haired man with enough force to separate them. Sliding across the sky, each stared at the other with a kind of similar anticipation. "You look good in black," the shorter of the two taunted.

"Better than you," the sixth replied, his smile spreading even further across his face, if that were possible. Flashing forward, the blue haired shinigami brought his sword hard down on his rivals, his empty claws reaching out to grab the other's orange locks in a tight fist.

Eyes widening, Ichigo watched as the world flew out from under him, his head snapping back as Grimmjow tossed him to the side, his orange tresses ripping from his head, bits of scalp following soon after.

Yelling in pain, it took the falling shinigami only seconds to right himself. Flashing upwards, he took the high ground, his voice roaring as he pulled his sword down on his rival. Blocking the blow with ease, Grimmjow reached up with a bloodied hand, orange hair imbedded under his nails. He wanted to grab his rival by the face, but just as he was within grasp, Ichigo disappeared. Gasping, the sixth turned to face his opponent as he felt the wind on his back suddenly increase.

He was too slow.

Taking hold of the Espada's throat, Ichigo whipped him across sky with a single swing, his hand crushing the others windpipe painfully. And as his rival gasped, regaining his balance, the orange haired shinigami came from below, his blade aimed to slice him right up the middle.

And as Ichigo yelled his defiance, the blue haired man dropped his blade to the ground.

Out of instinct, the redhead halted in his advances and raised his blade defensively, his brain immediately expecting a cero. After a second of thought though, he realized that that was impossible for his rival in his current form.

Why had he dropped his zanpakuto?

Watching curiously, Ichigo gaped as Grimmjow's blue eyes widened. Feet stumbling, the sixth started to fall backwards, his sight glazing over.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo shouted as he rushed forward to catch the limp teenager. And as he reached out his hand, he felt a force from above him come souring out of the sky. Glancing up, he watched with horror as five enormous silver pillars plunged out of the heavens towards him.

And then he was forcibly thrust out of the air.

"Stay out of out of the way!" Shinji's voice echoed above him as he caught his balance just before plummeting into a ground. Staring out, he watched in awe as the chained pillars created a single target on Grimmjow's limp form, the Espada colliding with the earth, imprisoned beneath the huge, shining stakes.

Flashing down to the scene, he glanced around hastily and saw that all the vizards were standing around an orange shield that had quickly arisen around the pillars.

Breathing hard, he looked to Shinji.

"What's going on?" he asked and the blonde ex-captain stole a glare his way.

"The stupid idiot left before facing his hollow!" Hyori answered his question from across the threshold. Head turning to stare at Grimmjow's imprisoned form, he gaped. "He's lucky we got here when we did, otherwise you'd fighting more than just a shinigami." Blinking, Ichigo watched with wide eyes as the chains holding the pillars began to shake.

He'd never seen how one conquered their hollow, not from the outside. Had they placed these same spells on him too?

"He _what_?" Harribel flashed up next to the young shinigami, her own black kimono blowing in the wind. "He didn't say anything to anyone about coming to see you!" Seconds after her appearance, all the others flashed up next to him, all but Yuzu, Tatsuki, Orihime, and Ulquiorra. They weren't too far from the hollow house though and it wasn't long before the four of them came running up as well.

"I knew," Ichigo admitted and the blonde mother hen turned her cold gaze to him. He didn't face her, just continued to stare at the blue haired Espada submerged in the ground. "He told me earlier that he was going."

"Why didn't you say anything?" she hissed.

"Does it matter now?" Urahara paced into the scene, a peeved expression gracing his normally calm features. Harribel didn't answer, her gaze just turned to stare at her adopted son with worry. "In any case, it looks like we're going to be getting this over with here and now."

"Prepare yourselves," Shinji warned, his voice directed at anyone and everyone who had never seen a vizard transformation. At the shinigami and humans. "You're about to see something very ugly."

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Okay, okay, I know, I know, no Ulquihime, but I'm trying to get some serious plot points out of the way. Don't shoot me. Something HUGE, like I can't even describe how huge, happens next chapter. At least to me it is, I can't speak for you, but I've been waiting this whole story to type the next chapter, and I'm not talking about Grimmjow fighting his hollow. I've actually already written it, and it's... well it's what it is, that's all I'm going to say.

I loved Tatsuki and Grimmjow's makeup scene. They're conversation is always so much fun to write, just as much fun as Ulquiorra and Orihime conversation, lol. Grimmjow is an ass, but that's just his way of showing he cares, right? And then him and Ichigo are idiots. I don't support smoking in any way, but I always wanted to depict a scene of them lounging about together puffin' away. I usually envisioned it in front of an old beat up house, chain link fence, chipping paint, etc, etc, but I can leave that for a Grimmichi AU fic, a fic I'll probably never write, lol.

Harribel was a little annoying, no? I wonder what that was about...

And of course, as soon as he gets the chance, Grimmjow viciously attacks Ichigo. Surprise, surprise. Sorry these last chapters seem to revolve around him, but he needs some story time for his character to develop. The Ulquihime will be back soon I promise. Just enjoy this other stuff while it's around, it's pretty critical.

Hope you enjoyed this, it's one of my favorite chapters (and so is the next one).

Love is good, and so are naps, so take advantage of both (I know I do).

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE!


	19. Who You Seem to Be

**The Definition of Love**

_"You would not **believe **your **eyes**_  
_If ten million fireflies_  
_**Lit up **the **world **as I fell **asleep**_

_'Cause they'd fill the open air_  
_And leave **teardrops everywhere**_  
_You'd think me **rude**_  
_But I would just **stand **and **stare**_

_I'd like to **make myself believe**_  
_That **planet Earth** turns **slowly**_  
_It's hard to say that I'd rather **stay**_  
_**Awake **when I'm **asleep**_  
**_'Cause everything is never as it seems"_**

**_Fireflies - Owl City  
_**

**Chapter 19: Who You Seem to Be  
**

Eyes blinking open, he took a few labored breaths, his hand going to his forehead as he took in the sight before him.

Above him was an ocean, water lapping back and forth. There was no sun, no stars, nothing, only an endless plain of water. At first he tensed upon seeing it, not being able to swim and all. But it remained above him; it didn't fall, only swished.

Standing, he paced in a circle. The water was his sky yet it had a horizon. But instead of the ground being what met with it, it was clouds. Clouds and deep blue sky. It rolled around him in hills, forming landforms. Yet if he were to try and walk on them, he was sure he'd fall straight through the blue expanse.

Instead he stood on a path, a road to be more precise, complete with asphalt and yellow lines. Like some kind of demented highway, streets intertwined each other over the expanse of hills, all on the same plane yet intersecting.

He shook his head. This was fucked up.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already?" Turning, the blue haired teenager whipped around and stared down at the source of the voice. "It hasn't been that long since you were here last." Eyebrows rising, the blue haired teenager watched intently as the azure cat stalked its way over to him. Pausing, it sat down with about six yards space left between them.

"Pantera," he stated and the cat flicked its ear at him. It was as large as he was tall, it's long tail tipped with a glass arrowhead. Two silver earrings hung from its blue ears, icy eyes staring him down.

"You remember me at least," the cat was eyeing him suspiciously. "Though I don't know quite what to make of _you_." The sixth narrowed his eyes. "You are an invader." Brows furrowing, he contemplated what his Zanpakuto was saying.

"Invader?" glancing around again, he finally started to recognize where he was. Yes, he knew this place. It was different now though. Before, the ocean had been sand, the sky-hills nothing but darkness. And the roads had been cracked and littered with debris. Now they were fresh, flat, unharmed.

Pure.

He stared back at the panther. "If this is my inner self then I'm hardly an invader."

"_Your_ inner self?" freezing, the blue haired teenager whipped around, his eyes widening at the figure standing before him. "I'm pretty sure all of this belongs to _me_." Smiling wide, the blue haired hollow stared at the shinigami clad version of himself with disgust.

"You're him," Grimmjow stated, his expression sobering to one of determination.

"Who?" the hollow folded his arms over his scarred chest, the hole in his abdomen moving with silent laughter. "You? Yeah, I was you… once. But you left me behind after I fought with that orange haired little fuck." He snarled. "I've been stuck in here ever since, chained down. I'm glad you decided to let me go though."

"I wouldn't have if I could help it," Grimmjow snarled and the other laughed.

"What's got your panties in a wad?" he paced forward a few paces. "I'm free," the hollow raised his hands to the ocean sky. "We can go back to where we started. I don't know why you decided you didn't need me anymore, but I'm ready to kill that Fuckberry's ass."

"No," Grimmjow stated firmly and his hollow stared at him with his same blue eyes.

"No?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm not here to join you; I'm here to put you in your place." The hollow narrowed his eyes, his smile turning into a frown as he took in the words being thrown at him.

"_You_ put _me_ in _my_ place?" he seemed skeptical. "You're a human, a human turned shinigami. I'm pretty sure this is _my_ place. You're the one that's out of place, not me." Grimmjow glared at his hollow, not exactly sure what was going on.

"This is my place now," the blue haired teenager argued. "You know it's true. Look how it's changed. This is me now; you're not in control anymore." The hollow smirked, his sharp canines slightly visible.

"Yeah, right," he laughed. Raising his leg, his white pants ruffled as he brought his black booted foot down on the road. As if some earthquake had shaken the entire place, a crack breached forth. It didn't open up into the earth though, no. Instead the road cracked, the crack spreading right under Grimmjow's feet and beyond. The hills in the line of fire split apart to darkness, and as he glanced up, sand rained down from the ocean. "You say it's change?" the teenager gulped as he watched a wedge of his world turn back in time and become something he thought he'd left behind. "It goes back pretty easy… if you ask me."

"You are not the King here!" Grimmjow yelled, his anger finally getting the better of him.

"Please," his hollow took a few steps forward and the sixth reached for his Zanpakuto. "I've reigned over this world for more than fifty years." Eye widening, Grimmjow glanced down at his waist and saw nothing there. "Looking for this?" Blue eyes whipping upward, Grimmjow watched as the hollow pulled Pantera out of its sheath.

"That's mine," he hissed.

"Don't you understand yet?" the hollow was getting irritated. "This world is mine, Pantera belongs to me, is a _part_ of me." As if to reinforce this point, the large cat appeared behind the hollow, his cold eyes staring at Grimmjow, narrowed dangerously. "Why should he join you when he's been with me all this time? Why are you so fuckin' special?"

"Pantera!" Grimmjow yelled desperately back at the Zanpakuto. "What are you doing?"

"You told me humans were weak," the panther grumbled. "You said Shinigami were weak. Why would I join one of both when the man who told me all those things, that I've fought alongside my whole life, is perfectly capable of getting rid of you?"

The hollow started laughing manically and Grimmjow took a step back, nostrils flaring.

How was this even possible? Pantera was his, dammit!

…Wasn't he?

So what if he'd met and trained with the zanpakuto as a hollow, that didn't mean that… what _did_ that mean? This hollow standing before him, that was what he used to be. That was who he was when he'd invaded the human world and encountered Ichigo; it was who he'd been when in Aizen's army. It was his past. Why should Pantera join him, his human self? It was when he was a hollow that Pantera had been at his strongest, and it was when he'd become a human that the Zanpakuto had been being ignored.

Why _should_ he be on his side?

He wasn't like Ichigo, he wasn't a human first and then a hollow. No, he was a hollow first and then a human. As far as these two were concerned, he was nothing but a nuisance that needed to be extinguished. He was the invader, the one that needed to be stomped out. And the hollow would do it. He didn't need a human hanging around in his conscious.

Grimmjow _needed_ the hollow, needed him for power, but that hollow would destroy him if he let it. Squish him beneath his boot like a used up cigarette, like a bad addiction that could only hinder him.

"You're right," the hollow stared down on him, unenthused. "I _will_ destroy you, and then I'll get rid of all your friends too, your family, because without them there's no chance that you'll come back to bother me." Raising his sword to the air, the hollow pointed it at Grimmjow, apparently losing patience.

Eyes bulging, Grimmjow gasped as he felt a blade surge through his gut.

"Look at that face," his hollow whispered in his ear. "Pathetic."

**oOo**

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked hastily as he watched the pillar's shake fiercely. They wouldn't stay attached to the ground long; the force beneath them was too strong.

"They've encountered each other," Shinji stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. Ichigo knew what he meant then. Grimmjow had found his hollow, and they were dealing with each other in one way or another.

As if to prove his point, a deafening roar echoed around inside the barrier, the silver spell falling like downed trees. And from beneath them rose a single figure. Yes, it was Grimmjow, but across half his face was a mask, a bleeding white mask that was slowly crawling across his face.

"Who goes first?" Shinji asked the general grouping of people standing around.

"I will," Hyori stated as she took a step towards the barrier. "I want the chance to kick this kid's ass." Nodding to Hachi, the little blonde woman waited as he opened a doorway in the barrier. Surging forward, it closed behind her. She didn't waste any time. Pulling out her sword, she thrust it towards the hissing Grimmjow.

Raising his zanpakuto to parry the blow, the insane monster roared louder as he was thrown back against the barrier.

**oOo**

"Pathetic," eyes widening, Grimmjow turned, his heart beating fast at what he saw. Desert, endless sands spread out before him. The landscape was dotted with skinny trees and in the distance he saw a huge palace. Las Noches.

Why was he in Hueco Mundo?

"It was a mistake, you coming here," finally looking to the voice, he saw a thin silhouette staring at him as it walked nearer. Hands in his pockets, the green eyed Espada sighed as if this whole mess were nothing more than a tedious exercise.

"Ulquiorra?" he whispered as the hollow drifted across the sands towards him. The Espada blinked at him, his dark hair contained in half a helmet, his eyes leaking green tears. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing… human," pausing in his advance, the hollow stared him up and down. "And you are bleeding. With this weakness, you still dared enter this place?" Glancing down, pain suddenly bombarded Grimmjow's consciousness. Hand going to the wound, he watched as blood spilled out across the sands from where Pantera had been thrust through him.

Pantera, who had joined forces with his hollow. Who had _always_ been with his hollow.

How was he supposed to fight now?

"I am tired of looking at your pathetic face," Ulquiorra sighed. "You always let your emotions reign over you, and look where it got you. You are a human, a shinigami no less, and you are helpless." Raising his finger, the fourth pointed it at him threateningly. "That is why I do not bother fighting you. I do not fear that we would destroy each other. Your emotions make you weak and you are an opponent not worthy of my time."

"What?" Grimmjow gaped. "What are you talking about?" He snarled at the hollow standing before him.

"You said I feared you," Ulquiorra continued. "But it is you who feared me. I have the control you lack; I would have defeated you without a second thought. You were hardly worthy of being part of the Espada, let alone fighting alongside me."

"Shut up!" Grimmjow snarled, more blood pouring from his wound despite how he tried to stop its flow. "You don't have any control! You say you do, but that in itself is why you're weak!" Ulquiorra glared at him. "You're weak because you refuse to feel emotion. How can you fight without passion, how can you live feeling nothing? What do you have to fight for?"

"I am a hollow, I fight because it is my purpose to do so," he replied.

"That's wrong!"

"Wrong?" the dark haired man tilted his head to the side curiously. "How can you say that? You were a hollow; you fought more for the sake of fighting than I did." Green energy gathered at the end of his finger and Grimmjow's eyes became saucers. "If you are supposed to have something to fight for then tell me, what _do_ you fight for?"

Grimmjow's lips tightened.

"Like I said, pathetic."

Closing his eyes, Grimmjow shied away from the green blaze that ran across the sand and engulfed him.

**oOo**

Ulquiorra gulped, his green eyes focused on the battle raging before him. He couldn't honestly believe that the thing inside that barrier was his brother, was Grimmjow. It raged around blindly, aiming to destroy anything that came near it, that hindered its escape.

It was a monster.

And Grimmjow had chosen to become this? Why? What was the point? What if it consumed him, what if he lost? He'd be a mindless killing machine, void of all emotion and character. That wasn't worth the risk, giving up everything for the sake of power… was it?

Was that why Grimmjow was doing it? It couldn't possibly be, he'd be consumed if he had become this for the sake of power. He must have another reason for wanting to deal with this monster.

Did Ulquiorra have a strong enough reason to face his own demons?

Glancing down at the woman standing next to him, he furrowed his brows as he watched her. The way her orange locks blew in the wind, how her silver gaze stared at what she saw with horror, her hand over her mouth.

No, he couldn't become this… this monster. The risk of losing her was… too great. If he sought to redeem his powers then he ran the risk of being consumed by himself. He ran the risk of becoming nothing more than a soul sucking beast. And everyone knew hollows went after the lives of those closest to them first. Family, friends.

He understood the logic behind it now. He had become a human, learned to live as such with the help of his friends and family. If his hollow were to take over, it would want to destroy them first in order to stomp him out, stomp out anything human still remaining inside him. If he failed to conquer his hollow, he'd go after her, after the woman he… he loved.

It was too high a risk. He couldn't put her life on the line like that. He couldn't put his family's lives on the line like that.

He would _not_ become a monster.

**oOo**

"Pathetic," taking a deep breath, he grabbed at his chest, his hair. He was still alive? How? He'd just been blasted by a cero. There was no way he could have survived. Yet here he was… in Karakura. On a bridge next to a river. "I'm so pathetic," whipping around, he stared wide eyed at her.

"Tatsuki?" he questioned and she glanced up at him. "What are you… how are you…" the sixth shook his head. He didn't know what question he wanted to form. He didn't even know where he was anymore, in Karakura, in his own head, he couldn't figure it out. So how could _she_ possibly answer him?

"_What_ am I?" she asked, her dark eyes going to the water. "_How_ am I?" She set her small hands on the bridge wall, her dark hair blowing in the wind, her black jacket hardly a shield against the freezing temperatures. He could see her fingers turning blue, her ears an unhealthy purple. "I don't know Grimmjow," she replied quietly. "I'm so lost."

"Lost?" he shook his head. What was she talking about?

"I didn't expect you to understand," she snapped, her hands forming fists in her sudden anger. "I'm nothing to you, right? Just some human girl that… that gave herself up to you like some desperate slut." He flinched at the hardness of her words. "Are you satisfied?"

"What are you talking about?" he took a step towards her. "We've already been over this Tatsuki. You're not a whore, alright? What happened was-"

"You're not listening to me," she didn't even look at him. "You're too caught up in yourself to hear what I have to say. I said I was a slut… why don't you listen to me?" Grimmjow gaped at her, this didn't make any sense! "I trusted you, did you know that? It didn't matter that you used to be a hollow, I liked you anyway. I thought you'd changed."

"I have changed!" he insisted, but she didn't even acknowledge that she'd heard him.

"I don't know why I did that," she smiled bitterly, her nose turning red as another cold wind whipped them. "Why did I think that you had changed? It was stupid really. You're a hollow, why would you give a damn about me?" She placed her hands at her sides, her fingers shivering with cold. "I found that out the hard way, that you're really just a monster. You used me Grimmjow… why did you do that?"

"I didn't," he shook his head.

"Why did you hurt me?"

"I didn't mean to," he took another step towards her. "I thought you understood. I thought we were just having fun, I thought you were okay with that." He wanted to touch her, she looked so cold.

"I'm dirty now Grimmjow," she whispered, her eyes falling to the ground. "I'm useless. I've been invaded by a monster. Why would anyone want someone who had asked to be consumed by a monster? I gave into you, I wanted to… I should be destroyed before what I did get's out, before others decide to follow what I did."

"No," he reached towards her and encountered her brown eyes staring up at him, a frown gracing her pale, cold face.

"I'm so cold Grimmjow," she whispered. Taking a step forward, her feet encountered the edge of the bridge, the barrier was gone and her toes hung precariously over the rim as the icy water raged on below her. She was hugging her naked body, the entirety of her form turning blue with cold as he watched her stare out at the horizon, a horizon that was now the ocean. "Why am I so cold?"

"Because its ten degrees out and you're not wearing any clothes!" he yelled angrily and she turned to him, a single tear running down her cheek only to freeze half way down. Like some kind of plague, the cold spread through her. It ate at her and she started to waste away before his eyes. Her well defined muscles became thin sticks, her ribs protruded from her skin, ripping the brittle flesh. Her breasts shrank; her hair became thin wisps that shed from her skull. Her eyes sank, her lips thinned to nothing.

"Why are you watching me freeze Grimmjow?" she rasped. "Why are you making me freeze?" He shook his head, but even as he took a step towards her, he came no closer to her. "You destroyed me Grimmjow," she closed her eyes painfully. "I'm falling."

"I'll save you," he stated and she stared up at him again. "I'll protect you; I won't let anything happen to you." She didn't seem to understand.

"How can you protect me from yourself?" she asked quietly and he felt his heart skip in his chest. "It's because of you that I'm like this." Turning to stare down at the water, he gasped, eyes widening, as the waves splashed up onto the bridge, the water level only inches below them. And the water was endless, a blue void below them. "You cannot save me."

"Don't!" he shouted as she took a step forward. Her feet touched the water, the waves holding her up as she glided across the surface, her form too light too sink now, too wasted away to plummet downwards.

Turning back to him, she looked afraid. She wanted to run from him. She was confused and she feared him.

"I'm leaving Grimmjow," she stated. "You can't protect me, you can't save me. You're the monster remember? Why would you save me when you've already consumed me?" He shook his head, about to go after her, when the water splashed up across his legs. Startled, he hesitated at the edge of the bridge. Would he sink? Would he _drown_? "See?" she shook her head bitterly. "Just let me go Grimmjow, I'll fight this myself." Yet even as she said that she continued to deteriorate, her words ringing hallow. "I don't need you, I don't want you."

"Yes you do!" he yelled.

"Then why won't you save me Grimmjow?" her voice was shaking, her lip quivering as she stared at him. "Why do you let me freeze?" Staring down at the water, she reached down to touch the waves. "Why do you let me drown?" Her finger pierced the water, her hand submerging into the cold liquid.

"Don't!" he yelled. "Just stop, come back here!" She wasn't listening. The water was up to her elbow, her body bent forward. She was going to fall in. She had the power to walk away, she was standing on water for fucks sake, and she was going to drown herself anyway! He didn't understand! If she'd just come back to him… he could help her…

"Tatsuki," he moaned desperately. "I'm sorry," he shook his head as she glanced up at him. "Please don't, just come back, don't do this. I didn't mean to do it, you know that! I'll protect you."

"I can't go back now Grimmjow," she replied. "It's too late, I can't take it back." She turned back to the water.

"Dammit Tatsuki!' he yelled as her face brushed the water, her terrified eyes flashing up to meet his. Surging forward, he reached out to grab her, his feet hitting the water…

… and sinking. Like a weight he plummeted into the ocean, his eyes staring up at her as her hand reached down towards him. He reached up to grab her, but he was sinking, he couldn't reach her. Water enveloped his lungs, burning them, suffocating him.

He'd drown.

She stared down at him through the water, her eyes sad.

He couldn't save her.

He'd drown, falling further and further into nothing. He'd driven her to despair and was useless in pulling her back. It was all his fault she was drowning, wilting. Dying. He'd consumed her, destroyed her. How was he supposed to protect her when it was his fault she was fading away?

He couldn't reach her…

He'd drown.

Pathetic.

**oOo**

"How long does this take?" she asked as she glanced up at the blonde woman standing next to her. Harribel returned her gaze with worried green eyes and the karate champion frowned. That was her answer. They had no idea.

She didn't know how much more of this she could take. They kept beating up on him and he kept fighting them. Like some deranged monster he was thoughtlessly fighting, biting, clawing. At this rate they'd killed him.

Why was it taking so long?

She couldn't even fathom what was going on in his head, where he was, how well he was doing. But his entire family had done it, Ichigo had done it, all those vizards had done it. The odds had to be in his favor. He couldn't be the first failure. He was too hard headed for that, right?

_"If you want a knight in shining armor then go talk to Kurosaki, he's a sucker for being a hero." He tightened his hold on her. "I'm supposed to be the monster, remember?" _

He wasn't a monster though. Perhaps his armor had a few dents, and maybe it wasn't white, but that didn't mean he couldn't rise out of this victorious. He could defeat the hollow inside him, she knew he could.

Why couldn't he hurry up about it?

**oOo**

"Pathetic," hands pulled into fists at his side, he blinked his eyes open, the blinding light of the sun surging through him with a vengeance. There was no water, Tatsuki was gone. Instead he stood once again on sand, blue sky above him, clouds too.

But they were fake.

"You're pathetic," turning, the sixth came face to face with Ichigo. The orange haired shinigami had raised an eyebrow at him, his thin black sword sitting on his shoulder as he stared his opponent up and down. "Why don't you pull out your release form already?" The dome rounded above him, he was in Las Noches. "Or would you rather I just left? I mean, if you're not even going to fight anymore then I'm not going to bother with you. I have more important things to do."

"You said you'd fight me anytime I wanted," the blue haired teenager hissed and his rival laughed shortly.

"You don't even have a sword Grimmjow, how are you going to fight me?" as if to the accent the point, the shorter of the two pointed his blade at his opponent. "I'm not going to fight someone weaker than me, what's that worth?" He gave Grimmjow a pitying eye and the sixth growled.

"I'm not weaker than you," he objected. "Don't act like you're better than me." Still Ichigo stared at him with those annoying brown eyes. "Stop looking at me like that." The orange haired shinigami sighed.

"Like what?" he asked, exasperated. "I'm not looking at you like anything Grimmjow, it's not my fault you're unarmed. Why'd you even come out here if you weren't ready to fight me? I had Inoue heal you and everything, and you forgot your sword?" he shook his orange head. "I thought you were a better warrior then that."

"I didn't forget it!" he roared, but Ichigo had turned to walk away. "Don't you turn your back on me!" His rival paused and glanced at him over his shoulder.

"I said I didn't want to waste my time on someone who wasn't worth it," he stated dangerously. "Let it go Grimmjow, I'll fight you again later, just bring your sword next time. It's almost insulting that you'd come to fight me without a weapon. It's not like you can use cero anymore, what were you thinking?"

"I don't need a sword to fight you," he stated and Ichigo turned to face him again, his brown eyes narrowed.

"You don't need a sword?" he asked. "How are you supposed to fight me? You gonna use your bare hands? You wouldn't stand a chance. I'll cut right through that weak soul of yours. Ulquiorra was right; you're hardly qualified to be an Espada."

"Shut up," he growled.

"And then after what you did to Tatsuki?" he glared at the blue haired teenager. "You didn't even have the guts to pull her out of the water, yet you were standing right there. How are you supposed to protect a weak human like her if you can't even come to battle prepared?"

"I said shut up Kurosaki!" he yelled. "I don't need a sword to fight you!"

"How will you fight me then?"

"How doesn't matter!" he exclaimed. "I'll do it one way or another."

"I'm ten times as powerful as you are," he stated. "The difference in our skills is obvious. Why pursue a battle you can't win? Give up Grimmjow, you're obviously outmatched."

"I don't care!" he shouted. "I'll find a way. A sword is nothing compared to my power. You don't stand a chance."

"Why don't I stand a chance?" the orange haired shinigami stepped towards him, his eyes angry. "You were shot down my Ulquiorra, you let Tatsuki die. What good are you? You can't win."

"I can!"

"Impossible!"

"I _will_ win!" he bellowed. "I _have_ to _win_! I don't care if you _are_ ten times stronger than I am, I will defeat you! I'm Ulquiorra's equal, he isn't better than me! And I _won't_ let Tatsuki die! I won't let her drown! I _will_ crush you!"

"Fine," Ichigo muttered and disappeared. Eyes widening, Grimmjow coughed as he felt the shinigami's sword rip through his flesh, the black blade forming a bloody hold in his abdomen. "See," the orange haired teenager taunted. "You didn't stand a chance."

Glancing up at him, their noses practically touching, Grimmjow snarled.

"You underestimate me Ichigo," he hissed. Reaching down, he grasped the blade with his own hands. "I don't need my sword to beat you," he assured with a sadistic smile, blood trickling down his chin. "I'll take yours instead."

Eyes widening, Ichigo gaped.

"You're the pathetic one," he assured. The world around him started to crack, the sand falling out into the hilled sky, the ocean drowning out the sunlight.

"You'll take my sword from me?" the hollow whispered against Grimmjow's ear.

"Yes," he replied, his hands tightening on Pantera. "You may have been King, but your reign is coming to an end. You think I'm weak because I'm human, but that is what makes me more powerful than you." Ripping the zanpakuto from his gut, he roared as the blade ran out of him, his strength forcing his hollow to stagger backwards, bladeless. "This world is mine," flipping the sword in midair, he caught the hilt and pointed it as his hollow. "I am stronger than you," he stated and the hollow growled, "because I have something to fight for, where all you want is mindless killing. I will protect everyone I love from you, even if that means I destroy us both." Stepping forward, he slashed his blade across the chest of the hollow. Yelling, it fell backwards. "_I_ am King now," he pointed the blade down at the mirror image of himself. "And you _will_ obey me!"

"Don't look at me like you're better than me," the hollow grated.

"Why?" he asked with a smirk. "I _am_ better than you." Snarling, the hollow was about to reach up and steal the sword back, but as he did, his hand turned to ash. He scoffed.

"You may have won this round," he stated, "but I'll be watching you." Slowly, his whole body deteriorated. "The next time you slip up, I'll come for you. I'm the King of this world."

"Yeah, right," Grimmjow stated as the last of the ash floated away, going off somewhere to regroup no doubt. Pathetic.

Reaching down, he ran his fingers along the blade, the blue hilt warming in his hands. He could feel the large cat sitting behind him, but he didn't turn to face it. Even as he gave his sword the cold shoulder, he knew it was bowing to him. Acknowledging him as the new ruler.

He was the King.

**oOo**

"Get out of the barrier!" Hyori screamed to Love as the monster inside started to wail desperately. The afroed man did as he was told and jumped back through the door that Hachi had made for him. Together, the large group watched as the hollow started to self destruct. Clawed hands reaching up, the monster scratched at its own face, screaming as in painfully released huge amounts of pent up reiatsu.

The area inside the barrier started to glow blue, the hollow inside screeching, howling, as it was consumed by the power of Grimmjow's own soul. His real soul.

Exploding, the barrier burst, a wind thrusting forth and grazing them all as the power recoiled inward, the blue cloud being vacuumed into the center of its source.

And as simply as that, all was calm once again.

As the dust cleared, they watched the white armor that had slowly accumulated on Grimmjow's body fall away, shattering on the ground and disappearing into nothing. Every piece of hollow that had started to devour him, the claws, the fangs, the tail, it all fell away until there was merely a man and a mask.

That too clattered to the ground and Grimmjow stumbled forward. Catching his balance, he coughed, blood spurting out of his mouth and splattering the ground. But he didn't fall despite how his body surged back and forth.

Gasping, he raised his blade and pointed it forward, his hair falling into his face as he stared at Ichigo with tired eyes.

"Sorry about that," he grated, a smirk crawling onto his face. "An unwanted interruption."

Ichigo grinned.

**oOo**

"So you have your powers back now huh?" Tatsuki asked as she crossed her arms over her chest, a smile on her face as she stared down at him. "That's a pretty scary thought." He laughed, his arm lying across his forehead as he stretched across his bed.

"Damn straight it is," he replied hoarsely and closed his eyes. Harribel had retrieved his body from Urahara's and then sent him straight to rest. He needed it to say the least. His family was downstairs now, discussing him no doubt. The thought brought a grin to his face.

"You look happy," she laughed as she glanced around his room. She was a little jealous actually. His room was twice as big as hers, and had twice as much stuff too. Between his LCD television, his queen sized bed, and his leather couch, she didn't know what to be envious of first.

"Yeah I guess," he breathed and they fell silent, but only for a few seconds. Sitting up, he stared up at her from behind tangled blue locks. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"What?" she asked with a nervous laugh. He didn't reply at first and she turned away from him, her fingers drifting to his piles of magazines on a nearby table.

"I'm sorry," he stated gruffly and she turned to face him again. "I don't think I told you that earlier," he stared down at the bed and she frowned. "I'm sorry about what happened last night. You're right, it shouldn't have happened, not like that, not in that place, not under those circumstances." She was staring at the floor, her hands picking at a seam in her shirt. "You deserved better."

"Tch," she shook her head and he stared up at her. "Why are you still even thinking about that?" She was smiling and with a cocky kind of saunter, she headed back towards his bed. Bending down so she was eye level with him, she sighed. "Forget about it," she shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Yeah is does," he replied, "but if you're going to live in denial then I guess I can too." She laughed and he smirked. "Besides," he slid is legs off the bed so they were straddling her small form, his hands finding their way to her waist as he stared up at her, "all we have to do is make a more memorable moment together, then you'll forget about that one."

"Oh really?" she cocked an eyebrow at him. "I don't know Grimmjow, last night was pretty unforgettable, I'm not sure you could surpass that." He blanched.

"Please woman," he was obviously offended. "You haven't seen nothin' yet." Pulling her closer to him, he was glad she didn't pull away. Instead she placed her hands gingerly on his shoulders. "I could prove it to you right now," he started, that sadistic grin returning, "if you wanted me too."

"I don't know Grimmjow," she teased, "I've acquired pretty high expectations and, well, you're not exactly in prime condition. I don't want to leave disappointed." He growled and frowned.

"You're pissing me off," he stated irritably and she laughed. Sinking down to his level, she found herself sitting in his lap, their faces nose to nose as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "It doesn't matter what condition I'm in honey, I always deliver."

"Honey?" she smiled wider. "Yeah sure," she glanced at the ceiling thoughtfully before her gaze finally turned back to him. "Prove it then."

"Nothing to prove," he assured quickly, his lips coming forward to meet hers. Good thing everyone downstairs was distracted, they didn't need to hear her screaming. Poor Lilynette would be scarred for life.

**oOo**

"Urahara," Isshin commanded the blonde man's attention. Turning, the shop owner gave his old friend a curious look. But upon seeing the seriousness of his expression, the paleness of his complexion, the green clad man knew this was no laughing matter. "Come back to my house." Ichigo watched the exchange with suspicious eyes. Upon Grimmjow's conquering of his hollow, everyone had pretty much forgotten about the argument between Harribel and his father. Everyone, that was, _except_ for his father.

So as the hollow family filtered back inside, as the vizards retreated back to wherever it was they had come from, Ichigo trailed behind his father as the brunette and the blonde lead the Kurosaki family home.

Once there, they all, kids, father, and guests, turned their attention to Urahara. The man scratched the back of his head nervously and gave Isshin a questioning look.

"Who is she?" he asked hastily and the scientist immediately caught on to what he was implying. He sighed, his shoulders slumping in a frown. Rukia cast Ichigo an inquisitive eye, but the orange haired shinigami wasn't paying her any attention.

"Who is who?" Yuzu asked her father innocently.

"If you want me to explain then may I give one suggestion?" the hat wearing man held up one finger. "If I may, I would recommend that only you and Ichigo hear this from _my_ mouth." The only son of Isshin Kurosaki furrowed his eyebrows, but his father seemed to understand and simply nodded.

"Everyone else leave the house," he stated. Karin looked about to object, but her father cast her the most penetrating gaze she had ever seen. Gulping, she grabbed her sister's hand and together the twins dashed from the house. Ichigo in turn gazed at his friends, silently promising Rukia and Renji that he would explain later, thus the two were also kicked out.

"What is going on?" the orange haired teenager asked shortly as the door closed behind Rukia. Urahara didn't answer, instead the scientist made himself comfortable in one of their dining room chairs. Removing his hat, he set it on the table and stared pointedly at Isshin who was also in the midst of sitting down.

Taking that as signal enough, the teenager took a seat last.

"It would be in your best interests to just listen Ichigo," the blonde man assured with a quick look at him. Furrowing his brows, the youngest did as he was advised and remained silent.

"You should know Isshin that… that this arose long after I took them all in. In fact, she didn't even start remembering anything until she came in contact with you and your family. She was just as shocked as you probably are."

"So… it is her…" Isshin sat back in his chair, his mouth falling open in disbelief.

"Yes, to a certain extent," the blonde continued. "Obviously she looks nothing like she used to, but her soul is in fact the same."

"How?"

Urahara sighed. "Let me start from the beginning." Again his gaze flicked to Ichigo, only this time his eyes were sad. "You all know that as Espada, each one represented an aspect of death. This wasn't just a title assigned to them. They chose it themselves. Part of the reason that some hollows reach a status above Menos Grande deals with how they died. Hollow's feed on negative emotions. The more negatively a person dies, the stronger the hollow becomes. For example," the blonde man seemed overly tired, "Grimmjow probably knowingly destroyed himself with drugs, alcohol, something, which is why I forbid him of it. He has a very addicting personality. Ulquiorra… was probably a suicide; you get what I'm saying." Isshin nodded. "Harribel's dominant soul died… sacrificing herself. She in essence committed a kind of suicide."

"Dominant soul?"

"Yes," Urahara affirmed. "As a hollow builds towards the menos level, it becomes all kinds of souls that converge and turn into an unthinking mass. Only a select few keep their consciousness through it, and even those just barely make it. Generally the madness drives them to forget their previous lives aside from how they died, which is why no higher level hollow can recollect anything about being human yet lower level ones can. After the Menos Grande level is surpassed, that one dominant soul basically consumes the rest, thus they become only one soul once again. From there, well you both know what happens. They start to develop otherwise, their appearance changes, so forth."

"So… but I killed the hollow that devoured her soul…"

"Just because he was the one that killed her doesn't mean he was the one that devoured her soul, even if he claimed he did. She could have been transported into Hueco Mundo, devoured by a weaker hollow that worked under him, a number of things. Maybe he only got a part of her soul, maybe she escaped before he could eat her entirely, only she can tell us."

"She would remember that?"

"A lot has been coming back to her," the blonde affirmed. "She asked me to help her because at first we weren't sure what was happening. But it became clearer and clearer every time we worked through it. At this point it's safe to assume that she… remembers almost everything about her previous human life." Isshin's shoulders dropped, his eyes falling to the table.

"Everything?" he choked.

"Yes," Urahara sighed. "I don't know what happened to tip you off, but we'd both agreed to keep it from you until you knew her better. But… well it's been stressing her out lately and I'm not surprised something happened. Watching you guys without being able to say anything… it's been killing her." The blonde man cleared his throat. "Isshin…" his voice was soft as he placed his hand on his friend's arm, "she is as much in love with you as the day she died."

Snapping to his feet, the brunette paced to the back of the kitchen, his hands running through his hair. "Jesus fuck," he swore shakily as he leaned down on the counter, his breathing labored. Ichigo stared between his father and Urahara, his patience waning quickly.

"It's her Isshin," the blonde man continued. "I knew her very well before she died, and I would swear on my _life_ that it's her. I've spent countless hours with her, she remembers who I am, she remembers all her family, friends, she-"

"God dammit Urahara!" the brunette snarled without leaving the counter. "Will you just shut up? I'm trying to digest this!" The blonde mans mouth clamped shut. Ichigo in turn was getting kind of freaked out. His heart was pounding in his chest nervously. There was something really serious going on and as he slowly pieced together what had been said over the table, the conclusion he was coming towards caused him to pale. He didn't know what it was his heart was trying to tell him, but it scared him.

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" he asked, his eyes wide, and Urahara turned back to him, appearing extremely exhausted.

"Ichigo… the reason I want you to hear this is because it… it will probably affect you more than your sisters, a lot more than your sisters," Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. "You were there, I know… you feel like it's your fault." The orange haired shinigami gulped, his breath halting as he raced forward, his head barreling towards only one conclusion. "You've harbored a lot of guilt over this the past eight years, and you deserve to know before anyone else." Mouth falling open, the teenager gaped, his eyes widening even more, his nostrils flaring. "Harribel's soul, Harribel herself… when she was a human… was killed protecting her only son from a hollow…" Standing abruptly, Ichigo stared down at the scientist, his breathing coming in labored gasps. "Tia Harribel is… is your mother."

… _What_?

"That's not possible," Ichigo was shaking his head frantically. His breath was trembling as he started to hyperventilate. "I saw her die!" he yelled. "That's not possible!" Turning from the counter, Isshin stared at his son with wide eyes. "_**I saw her die, god dammit**_!"

"Ichigo," Urahara rose from his seat and placed a hand on the teenagers arm. But the orange haired shinigami wasn't going to have it. He shied away from the blonde man, his brown eyes still the size of saucers as he stumbled towards the door.

"Ichigo!" Isshin yelled, but his son couldn't hear him.

Flinging the door open, he staggered out of his house, nearly falling over as he rushed his shaking limbs forward. They were still too stunned to react to his commands, and his mind was sprinting a million miles a minute. None of it made sense, but he had to know. He _had_ to _know_.

"Ichigo?" Rukia rose from her spot sitting in the drive, her face paling upon seeing him. "What's wrong Ichigo?" She rushed towards him. She'd never seen him like this. He was as pale as a ghost, literally, he was whiter than Ulquiorra. His eyes were scared, wide, and he… he looked like he was confused between wanting to be angry and wanting to cry.

Karin and Yuzu watched the exchange from the other side of the drive, their hands held tightly together as they stared wide eyed at their older brother. He looked so broken. And as he avoided Rukia's outstretched hands with a pointed dive, they knew something was really very wrong.

"What the fuck?" Renji breathed as Ichigo barreled past him and out into the road.

"I don't know…" Rukia was gaping, her own fears jolting into her head. Fear of what though she didn't know.

"What's going on?" Yuzu asked, tears already streaming down her face. "What's wrong with Ichigo…?" Rukia could only shake her head, she didn't know. So instead she rushed out the drive after him.

Gulping, he stared at the house across the street, seven houses down. It loomed above him, the only thing he could focus on. Nothing else registered, he had only one goal, and that was to get to that house. He had to find her. He had to see it for himself. He knew it wasn't true, it couldn't possibly be, and when he found her he'd… do something. How dare she spread these lies, how dare she impersonate his mother, how dare she!

How _dare_ she!

He didn't remember the walk, the run, the tumble, to her house. All he knew was that at one time or another he was tripping up their driveway, his new focus their door. And after he flung that open, his eyes darted around the big house frantically.

"Ichigo?" Ulquiorra rose from his spot sitting on the couch. "What are you-"

"_**Where is she**_?" he yelled, his mouth something between a shout and a hiss, but desperate enough to convince the listener that it had indeed been both. Ulquiorra in turn furrowed his eyebrows, obviously confused.

"What the hell is going on?" Grimmjow came tumbling down the stairs, his blue eyes searching and landing forcibly on Ichigo. "Kurosaki?" Tatsuki came after him, her face pale as she slipped her shirt back over head. But the orange haired shinigami didn't have time to worry about them.

"_**Where is she god dammit**_?"

"_Who_?" Ulquiorra asked, his hands raised in confusion. The orange haired shinigami honestly considered strangling him, and he was stomping forward to do so, but as he did, he caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. Glancing out the large windows, he saw her, in the yard, her back to the house as she calmly hung laundry up on a line.

They were white sheets, white shirts, everything white. Even her own skirt was all white, her blouse much the same. Her long blonde hair blew in the wind, the sun beating down as if the clouds had been cleared and thus allowed the day to warm just to realize this moment.

He gaped at her only momentarily before he stomped around Ulquiorra. It was around this time that Rukia and Renji burst into the house as well, but they could all only watch as the deranged shinigami flung the sliding glass door open and stumbled out into the yard.

Gathering at the window, they waited in bated breath.

"You!" he pointed an accusing finger at the blonde woman. She turned at hearing his voice, her eyebrows raised in momentary shock. The grass was tripping him and he cursed it for he was sure he didn't look nearly as intimidating to this faker as he wanted to.

She stared at him with those green eyes, eyes that weren't his mothers, yet as they softened in understanding, he saw her there. He saw her in the tired lines of her face, in the way her head cocked to the side, her arms folding under her breasts. Everything about her, the way she shifted her weight to one hip, how her left toe pointed to the side, _everything_ about her screamed at him who she was.

Yet he hadn't even realized…

"Ichigo," she breathed as he came to a halt some two yards away from her. He felt his chest tighten, his heart constricting painfully as he stared at her, took in everything about her. His chin started to shiver despite how he tried to control it, his lip quivering dangerously. He couldn't stop his breath from catching; stop his throat from drying up. His teeth clenched together painfully, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He was nothing against the tears that leaked down his cheeks.

She took a step towards him and he gave into the terrible guilt, the horrible ache, the mourning he had never been able to accomplish because he'd been too busy blaming himself for her death his entire life. Like some huge weight, the burden lifted as he stared at her, and all those emotions he had never expressed spilled out of him like a tidal wave.

They left him weak, and he slowly sank to the ground.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, unprecedented amounts of tears shimmering down his face. "I'm _so_ sorry." He couldn't look at her anymore, it was too much. "I-it's my fault you died, and I'm so s-sorry."

"No," she rushed forward quickly, urgently, her own emotion streaking down her cheeks. "No Ichigo," she sank to the ground in front of him, her hands cupping his face, pulling it up to look at her. "It wasn't your fault, it was an accident."

"It was," he insisted as he grabbed her wrists with his own hands. "I'm sorry, p-please forgive me."

"Oh Ichigo," she cried and pulled him into her embrace. Wrapping his arms around her small waist, he leaned his head against her shoulder, his shuddering sobs shaking his entire being to the core.

She even smelled like before.

How had he not realized…?

"I'm sorry," he whispered as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, protectively. "I'm sorry…"

**oOo**

"What… the fuck?" Grimmjow stared at the scene unfolding before him with narrowed eyes. He wasn't the only one confused, obviously, and he wasn't the only one getting slightly defensive either. Next to him Ulquiorra was bristling slightly.

Gasping suddenly, Rukia's hands went to her lips. Staggering backwards, she collapsed on one of the couches, her violet eyes wide.

"What?" Renji asked her, but he didn't receive an answer, at least not from her.

"I suppose I should tell you," starting, all the teenagers in the room whipped their heads around at the sound of the sleepy voice. "I just got off a plane though…"

"Starrk?" Lilynette came bursting into the room, her smile wide. Glancing around quickly however caused her happiness to backtrack. All the seriousness floating around was a terrible downer. And as she swept a look outside, she frowned. "What's wrong with Harribel?" her voice was quickly growing panicked. "And why is Ichigo…?" She stared up at Starrk with confused eyes.

He sighed.

"Sit down, all of you," he commanded. Casting a few more glances outside, the group did as they were told, but not without unease. Nel soon entered the room as well. Crawling up onto a couch, she made herself rather comfortable on Renji's lap, much to the shinigami's surprise. "Harribel and I have been keeping something from you." It was obvious this discussion was directed mainly at his own children, the others were simply bystanders.

"Well spit it out already," Grimmjow snapped as he glanced outside once again, his unease only growing. It was terrible really. Obviously Ichigo was very upset about something but… well why did he have to come to _their_ mother about it…?

Starrk sighed again. "When we first moved here and started having relations with the Kurosaki family, some strange things started happening to Harribel. She… started remembering things." Grimmjow cocked an impatient eyebrow. "She started remembering things from her life as a human, before this one." Both the sixth and the fourth gaped.

"It's her, isn't it?" Rukia sat back, her eyes calculating. "She Masaki, she's Ichigo's mother… isn't she?" Slowly, Starrk nodded.

"Wait… what?" Lilynette shook her head, apparently not really comprehending the situation. "How… how can she be Ichigo's mom if she's… if she's _our_ mom?" Again the unease settled into the room. Crossing his arms over his chest, Grimmjow sat back in his seat, his brows mashed together. Ulquiorra in turn was a completely empty slate, void of everything.

"Well," Starrk placed his hand comfortingly on Lilynette's head, "just because she's their mom doesn't mean she's not your mom too. She's still the same as she always was." These words didn't bring much comfort to the room. Standing, Rukia fumed down at them.

"How dare you," she was mostly looking at Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, the two teenagers gazes snapping up to meet hers. "Do you have any idea what Ichigo's gone through? He's blamed himself for his mother's death since it happened, and you two don't even have the decency to act with some kind of compassion?"

"Excuse me?" Grimmjow stood angrily, towering over the short woman. "Sorry that I'm not immediately _ecstatic_ about this news. You're not the one that dealt with having to adapt to this whole thing, living with the same people day in and day out. We're a family whether you shinigami are willing to accept it or not, and when something like this pops up and threatens to screw everything up, I get a little irritated."

"Things are screwed up?" Lilynette glanced around the room, her eyes welling with tears. "What's screwed up?"

"That is so immature," Rukia stated, not at all fazed by the size of the man she was confronting. "How can you think of yourself when-"

"You know what," Grimmjow was at his wits end. If no one had noticed, it had been a pretty stressful day for him, "this isn't even any of your business, so stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." Rukia's nostrils flared.

"Starrk, what's going on?" Lilynette was tugging in his sleeve. "What are they talking about?" The primera growled, this was getting out of hand.

"Enough!" he bellowed and the room fell silent. Glaring at each other, Grimmjow and Rukia sat back down in their seats. "Nothing is screwed up," Starrk clarified and Grimmjow stared down at the empty piece of carpet where Harribel's table had sat only a day before.

He suddenly felt really bad about breaking it.

"You're all blowing this way out of proportion," he continued. "Harribel has already decided what to do, so none of your thoughts make a difference anyway." All eyes stared expectantly at him and he sighed, his anger dwindling. "Things… will probably change," he confirmed and Lilynette whimpered. "She's not leaving," he glanced down at Lilynette, his gaze softening, "but this can't be ignored either. Try and think of this in a more positive light," the brunette explained. "Yes, you'll have to… 'share' her with the Kurosaki family," Grimmjow scoffed. "But… you'll also be gaining something too." He stared down at Lilynette again, a small smile gracing his lips. "Now you, Karin, and Yuzu are… like sisters instead of just friends."

A dumbfounded look dropped onto Lilynette's face as she considered the concept. Slowly, ever so hesitantly, a grin found its way onto her face.

"I hadn't thought about it like that," she breathed.

"Tch," Grimmjow rose to his feet again. "Whatever." Vaulting over the back of the couch, he stalked his way over to the stairs, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets as he made his way up to his room.

Glancing after him, Starrk tightened his lips in disapproval.

Green eyes empty, Ulquiorra rose to his feet as well. He paused when he stood, but soon drifted around the couch and up the stairs after his brother.

Rukia was fuming.

"What is their problem?" she asked heatedly. "It's not like-"

"Rukia," Renji hissed and she glanced up at her old friend. He wasn't paying her any attention though; he was staring towards the kitchen. Whipping around, the short shinigami's breath caught as she watched Yuzu and Karin slowly glide into the house, both of them paler than alabaster. Isshin stood behind them and appeared much the same.

"I think we need to leave," Tatsuki whispered quietly. Nodding, Renji set Nel down on the couch and together the three outsiders skirted their way past the Kurosaki family, their heads nodding in acknowledgement as they whisked themselves away.

None of Ichigo's family even looked at them.

"Karin, Yu-" Lilynette glanced up at Starrk as he pulled her back. She'd been about to dash over to them, to exclaim in happiness about their new relation, but her brunette guardian had stopped her. As she stared at him, he shook his head, telling her to remain silent.

Wide eyed, the twins froze as they stood in the living room and watched Ichigo and Harribel outside the windows. He was sobbing, talking to her, and she was simply replying back, a few tears running down her cheeks as well. She had her hand on the side of his face, her fingertips embedded in his orange hair.

Ichigo abruptly shook his head, his face looking pained. The blonde woman in turn pressed her lips to his forehead and a fresh wave of tears erupted out of his eyes.

Yuzu felt her lower lip start to quiver, her hands tightening into fists at her side. She wasn't exactly sure if she should be feeling shocked or happy, and the mixed emotions were weighing her down. She'd known there was a reason she'd liked Harribel when she'd met her. Now she _knew_ that reason.

Karin stared with uneasy eyes as her brother had a mental breakdown in their neighbor's yard. She'd never seen her bother cry, not that she could remember. He was her inspiration, a role model in being a strong individual. She knew that if he didn't cry than she didn't need to either.

Could she now? God knows she wanted to.

Head suddenly turning up, Harribel glanced in at them through the window, her green gaze sweeping over them with sudden longing. Whimpering, Yuzu couldn't hold herself back any longer. Tears flooding her eyes, she jolted forward, her legs carrying her across the carpet, out the door, onto the grass, and into her mother's waiting arms.

She didn't quite understand how it was possible, but as her tanned limbs pulled her close, she knew it was true. It just felt right, there was no denying it. Crying and hiccupping, she burrowed her head into her mother's chest, her small arms gripping at her shirt desperately as they sat in the grass.

Karin was a little slower to approach the group. In fact as soon as Yuzu had bolted she'd reached for her father's hand, grasping it tightly, and watched with wide eyes as her sister fell into the blonde's arms, suddenly very afraid that everything was going to fall right out from beneath her feet and disappear. She hadn't let go yet and as she walked out into the yard, she only did so because her father egged her on silently. Her fingers wrapped around his tightly, her throat dry.

Glancing up from Yuzu, Karin caught Harribel's green eyes. Like some kind of uncontrollable virus, she too felt her lower lip tremble, tears welling to her eyes. It was a feeling she hadn't had to deal with in eight years, one she'd suppressed. And just like her brother, she soon found herself incapable of finding that control again.

That was her. Really, truthfully, it was.

That was her _mother_.

Isshin released her easily as she suddenly dove forward, her small hand leaving his cold. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he watched the reunion with wide eyes. In all honestly, his brain was frozen. No words would come to mouth, no emotion crossed his heart. He didn't know what to think, he couldn't honestly believe it was true.

So instead he watched.

"You're so big," she wept into her daughters' hair, her voice cracking as she finally let loose words she'd wanted to say for what felt like an eternity. They were simple, but they were the first things that came to her mind. "You're _all_ so big." Pulling the twins closer to her, she buried her face in their hair, their familiar scents filling her soul with a warmth she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

Standing in the doorway with Starrk, Lilynette watched the exchange with curious eyes. She couldn't really do anything else, not with Starrk holding her back. She was slowly starting to understand though, understand why her two friends were so upset. She'd been worried about losing Harribel but they… they'd already lost her once.

That kind of pain was unimaginable for her.

"Hugs!" Slipping out the door, Nel stared at the group in the yard, a smile stretching across her face. "Nel wants hugs too." Before either Lilynette or Starrk could stop her, the little girl was bumbling across the yard.

"Nel!" Lilynette hissed, but alas the little girl wasn't listening. Running up to Harribel, she grabbed the blonde woman's arm, staring up at her expectantly. Glancing down quickly, a look of surprise crossed their mother's face before it quickly dissolved into a smile.

For whatever reason, Lilynette released a relieved sigh.

"Stop worrying so much," Starrk reprimanded above her and she glanced up at him quickly. Releasing her shoulder, he shoved her forward lightly. Stumbling a bit, she glared back at him. He only nodded in turn and her face paled. Looking back at the group huddled in the grass before her, she stepped forward slowly.

Shaking her head quickly though, she told herself she was being silly. This was Harribel, what was she so afraid of? Smiling wide, she skipped over to the group and landed in the grass next to Karin. The dark haired girl turned sharply in surprise, her tear streaked face a high contrast to how she normally appeared. Grinning wider at her, Lilynette took her hand in hers.

Karin smiled in return.

"We're sisters now," Lilynette whispered, giggling.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

And the mystery of Harribel, the one that has been continuously questioned this _entire_ story, is finally revealed. Isn't that sweet? Just like cupcakes and ice-cream. I've been waiting to reveal this for _so_ long, and I will honestly be surprised if anyone else is surprised by this development. I mean, I hinted at it in the FIRST chapter, lol.

In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Of course Harribel kind of overshadowed the first part of it, but I do have to comment on Grimmjow's transformation anyway. I thought it was fun, especially the part with Tatsuki. If you notice, each scenario wasn't about the person involved so much as Grimmjow's insecurities.

Fun, fun.

Anyway, I hope the second half of this chapter invoked some kind of emotion in you guys. If it didn't then I failed, miserably, but seeing as I was listening to Disney music and eating raw cookie dough while reading through it again, I can't really tell, LOL! You trying being serious when is blaring out of your speakers.

Yeah, I'm a nerd like that.

I KNOW! NO ULQUIHIME!

AGAIN!

Don't worry, we're getting back to them now that all this other business is out of the way. Trust me, I know, I already have the next chapter written and the one after started, lol. It's fun, I promise.

Anyway, happy Friday to all and Happy Halloween! I should go to bed now seeing as I just got done pulling an all-nighter (art school ROX!). Hope you all loved it as much as I did.

Bring love to the world and give those cute little kids lots of candy!

Toodles

R&R PLEASE!


	20. Because Death Cannot Do Us Part

**The Definition of Love**

_"I **knew you** before the **west** was **won**  
And I **heard** you **say** the **past**  
was **much more fun**  
You go **your way**, I go **mine**  
But I'll see you **next time**_

_It's all **been done**  
It's all **been done**  
It's all been done **before**"_

**_It's All Been Done - Barenaked Ladies _**

**Chapter 20: Because Death Cannot Do Us Part**

"Do you remember the time that we were at the beach and a seagull swooped down and knocked my ice-cream right off the cone?" Yuzu bounced up and down on the couch; her eyes alight as she questioned the blonde woman sitting next to her.

"Yes," she smiled. "And that bird was so slow that Ichigo caught it with his bare hands and threw it into the ocean before we could stop him, and luckily it flew up before it hit the water." The little blonde girl grinned wider.

"He was so mad," Karin added with an eye roll at her Onii-san. He was sitting on the sofa across from them, Nel asleep in his lap as he smiled up at his sister. "He started yelling at that stupid bird like it could actually understand him."

"It made Yuzu cry..." he defended lamely with a shrug as he stared back down at the snoozing child cuddled against his chest. Mostly as a distraction. Every time he glanced up at the woman in front of him, he felt tears well up in his eyes. It was pathetic, or so he felt, but unavoidable apparently.

"Yeah, but then he dropped _his_ ice-cream because he wouldn't calm down and started to cry too," Karin added and her brother rolled his eyes at _her_.

Isshin watched the exchange silently from his post against the wall just before the kitchen. Alas he had failed to say anything at all. Despite her ability to recollect anything and everything his girls asked about, he just couldn't harness the fact that it was true. It was terrible really, but he... wasn't sure he'd ever be able to believe it was true. Somehow over the last eight years he'd managed to push every memory of her, every trace of her existence, every feeling he had for her, to the base of his being, locked it up in the back of his mind and buried it too deep to ever bother him again.

Sure, he kept the poster in the kitchen, he talked about her, but all of that was for his children. He woke up for them because he loved them beyond any kind of comprehension. How would they have continued to live, been able to move on, if they'd known his heart had died that day? That he hadn't been able to feel for another person anything even relatively, minutely, similar to what he had felt for his wife?

That he had been barren of almost anything real in his soul for eight years?

He couldn't believe it the day she had died, he hadn't wanted to, but somehow the truth had slowly sunk into him. Somehow he'd come to accept it despite how he'd dreaded the notion. He'd realized that she was gone, that he'd lost her. The one woman who had caught his attention after only looking at him. The woman he'd invisibly stalked for over a year before purposefully disposing himself of all his power just so he could talk to her one more time.

The woman he'd betrayed Soul Society for. And then been shunned by them when they'd realized what he'd done, his name purposefully forgotten and forbidden to be spoken.

"It sounds to me like all these stories end with Ichigo crying one way or another," Lilynette mocked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Who would have thought that the most powerful being in the world used to be such a crybaby?" She was obviously trying to annoy him, the smirk she cast him said as much, so he settled for throwing her a quick glare. "Anyway," she continued, "all this talk about ice-cream is making me hungry."

Harribel raised her eyebrows in acknowledgment. It was nine at night now; they'd been together since around four-thirty. It was far past dinner, but they all must have lost track of time.

"Well if that is the general consensus," standing to her feet, she patted off her skirt, "then I will have to do something about it." Smiling quickly, she headed for the kitchen. She was, of course, followed by a gaggle of children.

"I want to help!" Yuzu exclaimed. "You know, I thought it was kind of funny that you learned how to cook things so quickly. You must have started to remember." The blonde simply smiled in return as they stampeded into the kitchen. Watching them, Ichigo took note that his father didn't move, that his mother didn't look to him.

He frowned.

Picking Nel up gently, he set her in the corner of the couch before he too headed into the kitchen. Not wanting to enter the fray for obvious reasons, he stayed outside it, making himself comfortable on one of the stools situated on the border of the kitchen, his elbows leaning on the bar as he watched the activity on the counter below.

"Everyone can help," the blonde assured as she started setting up bowls and measuring cups and random packages of ingredients. Apparently, despite it being late on a school night, she was intent on creating a full meal. "Just make sure you all wash your hands," she stated as she set the first example.

Ichigo smiled. Like some kind of human attachments, the three girls trotted along behind her. And even though they were continuously getting in the way, no kind of irritation or exasperation breached his mother's face. No, she had endless patience for them tonight.

"So, how many people do we need to feed?" she quizzed as the train made its way back over to the counter.

"Well there's the five of us," Yuzu started, always more than happy to say anything to her mother, "and there's Daddy and-"

Apparently taking that as a cue, the infamous man made his way around the corner and into kitchen.

"Don't include me," he stated as he walked around Ichigo. "I need to get going home, work to do." Both Yuzu and Karin gaped at him, apparently awestruck that he would suggest a thing like work on the most important day of their short lives. "Don't look like that," his voice was tired, low, stressed. "You know the sick can't wait." Leaving it at that, he cast them a quick smile and practically sprinted to the door.

Ichigo frowned again as he left, an audible click heard behind him in the silent kitchen.

"Wha…" Yuzu was obviously distressed. Suddenly wiping her hands on a towel, the blonde woman placed her hand on the lighter twins head. Smiling softly, she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"I'm leaving you in charge for a minute," she said softly. "Keep these two under control." Rounding the girls quickly, she didn't say another word as she followed Isshin out the door. The kitchen was silent again, all eyes staring after her.

"Isshin!" tapping her way down the steps off the porch, she could just vaguely see the outline of his form against the darkness, his white shirt the only thing glowing in the moonless night. He'd stopped at the sound of her voice, his head slowly turning to look at her. Stopping about two yards away from him, she stared at him uneasily. "Isshin, I-"

"Please don't," he choked as his head whipped back around to face away from her. He sighed. "I can't… I can't handle this right now. Please," he was begging, his voice desperate, "please just… just give me some time or… something, I don't know. I can't…" He was shaking his head as he forced his feet to start forward again. "I can't talk with you right now."

What else could he do? The dead were supposed to stay dead, right? He was a shinigami, he knew that, lived by it. Souls that were separated from the body weren't meant to come back. He'd lived, been comforted, sought grief, in this simple truth. He'd lived for over two-hundred years with that at the base of so many things he did.

He couldn't handle this right now.

He just… couldn't…

Hand outstretched, she almost stopped him. Almost. She wanted to, desperately. Yet alas her voice failed her, her feet remained planted in the drive. It was in his voice, the hurt, the pain, the confusion. If he couldn't face her yet then… then she would give him as much time as he needed. She would not rob him of that, not when he was feeling so much anguish.

She felt it too. She understood. But she'd had time to come to terms. He was in need of that too, and as she turned back to the house, she took a shaking breath, composing herself. No one else needed to know how difficult this was.

No one needed to know how much she missed him.

**oOo**

"Now we just wait," she affirmed as she closed the oven door. Wiping her hands together, it was a job well done. "So, who's going to set the table?" She glanced down at the three girls huddled around her. They in turn glanced at each other. No one liked setting the table.

"I think Ichigo should do it," Karin piped up as she glanced back at her brother. "He hasn't done anything." The orange haired shinigami tightened his lips in irritation as his sister grinned deviously at him.

"I think," Harribel turned to him with raised eyebrows, "that that is a fine idea." She smiled and he frowned. He wanted to object, but she continued. "And I expect it to be done perfectly," she decided as she started pulling tableware from the cupboards, "and of course, when you get everyone's drinks as well," she stared pointedly at him, "no alcohol."

Her son paled. Yeah… he deserved that…

Dragging himself into the kitchen, he started to gather up the supplies without looking up at her, for more reasons than one. Had he though, he would have noticed the thoughtful look on her face.

"Starrk?" her voice carried into the dining room across the way. Glancing up from the newspaper, the brunette peered at her over a pair of reading glasses. "Where are Grimmjow and Ulquiorra?" Ichigo paused only slightly as he passed by Starrk's chair with a pile of plates. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra… they were part of this family too…

His mother's family… the one that wasn't his…

That's right, his mother, she… she was a hollow once…

She _had_ a hollow, just like him.

Setting the first plate on the table, the orange haired teenager forcefully stopped his hands from shaking.

"They're in their rooms," the primera answered with a sigh. "They… they did not take the news well, Harribel." Frowning, the blonde looked to the living room, her brows furrowed. But just as quickly a determined sharpness graced her features.

"You three keep an eye on the food; I'll be back down in a little while." Yuzu looked like she wanted to object, but thought better of it rather suddenly, her face simply dropping into a frown. Rounding the corner out of the kitchen, the third climbed her way up the stairs. Glancing between the first two doors on the right and the left, she considered before drifting to the left.

"Grimmjow?" she knocked softly and received no answer. Turning the knob, she pushed the door open and poked her head inside. It was quiet, but the light was on. Slipping the rest of the way in, she glanced to the far left and let her shoulders drop. He lay on the bed, his back facing outwards, his eyes closed overly tight.

Padding across the threshold, she sat on the edge of his bed.

"Grimmjow," she called again, softer yet, "I know you're not asleep." The muscular teenager didn't reply. Frowning, she placed a hand on his arm. "I know you're upset, but I can't help you if you don't tell me why." Still nothing. Pausing, she considered all the plausible reasons he could be acting like this. There were many and she wasn't sure which was correct, she didn't want to voice the wrong idea. "Please Grimmjow, you know you can tell me."

Finally releasing a sigh, the blue haired teenager's body lost its tension. Sitting up, he slowly turned his head to her, a deep frown creasing his catlike features. Removing her hand, the third replaced it in her lap and waited. The sixth directed his gaze away from her, his blue eyes piercing the wall.

"Why?" he asked simply and she cocked her head to the side. "Why do you have to be _her_?" Looking back at her, his eyebrows were furrowed. "If you're his mother then… then how can you even stand to look at me?" Her face relaxed and she sighed.

"Grimmjow," she smiled a little. "What are you talking about? It's like everyone is splitting me in half, but that's not who I am. Masaki Kurosaki is a very important part of my life, yet so is Tia Harribel." He stared down at the bed. "I was a hollow too Grimmjow, we come from the same world. I don't hold anything against you just because Ichigo is my son too."

"I tried to kill him three times," he stated monotonously, apparently still in disbelief.

"And he tried to kill you three times," she stated in reply, finally starting to understand the way Grimmjow's head was working. "Do you think I'm going to choose him over you?" Silence. "Grimmjow, neither one of you is more important to me than the other." Shaking her head, she wrapped her fingers around his arm again. "I'm not going to go running back to a life I left eight years ago. I can't." Finally catching his gaze again, she did her best to reassure him. "Life doesn't work that way," she continued. "I found a new life here, with all of you, and you're all my family, the Kurosaki's included. But that doesn't mean anything about how I feel about all of you is going to change."

He sighed.

"You and Ichigo may be rivals, but you don't need to rival over me," she had to get this across to him. The last thing she wanted was him and Ichigo fighting about it. They fought enough as it was. "I'm still Harribel Grimmjow, third ranking Espada of Aizen's army, once a Vasto Lorde. That didn't get erased and replaced with my past. It's all there, and that means you too." She smiled, "Ichigo is no better than you."

That hit him. Blinking quickly, he tried not to flinch as her words struck him like a punch in the face.

"I know," he muttered.

"So… are you okay?" she really was worried about him he realized. He suddenly felt very childish, his stupid insecurities no longer making any sense. What had he been thinking? Harribel was Harribel and that was it. That's all he knew and that was all he wanted to know. So she remembered her past? It didn't change who she was. He'd been a fool to think she was going to leave them for Kurosaki.

What was wrong with him? Idiot!

"Yeah I'm fine," he sighed. "But this means Kurosaki's going to be around a lot more doesn't it?" She frowned, one of her eyebrows cocking up.

"Yes, Ichigo will be around," she stated, "and I expect that the next time you two are together, you won't be drinking," she paused, "or _smoking_." He gaped, his blue eyes flashing as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "You're grounded by the way. For three months."

"That little shit ratted me out!" he hissed, his eyes narrowing.

"Language Grimmjow."

"I'm going to kick his little orange ass," he continued and she sighed.

"Grimmjow! Language or I'll add another month," shaking her head, she pursed her lips in disapproval. He in turn mumbled an inaudible apology. "Alright," standing, she stared down at him, her green eyes clearing of their irritation. "Dinner will be ready soon, I expect you downstairs." Turning to the door, she walked back across his room.

"Is Kurosaki going to be there?" he asked as she headed out into the hall.

"Yes," she stated simply and he groaned.

"I can't live like this," he breathed pathetically and she rolled her eyes.

Closing his door behind her, she took a deep breath and crossed the hall. Knocking softly, she didn't bother saying his name. He wouldn't have answer anyway. Pushing the door open, she stepped into the dark room.

Much akin to his brother, he was occupying the bed. But unlike the blue haired Espada, he wasn't pretending to be asleep. Sitting near the back, he had his legs crossed, his eyes staring down at the puppy sleeping with its head sitting in his lap. Fingers rubbing behind the animals ears, he looked extremely deep in thought.

"Thinking too much is an unhealthy habit," she stated and his eyes flickered up to her. He didn't say anything though and his gaze went back to the dog as quickly as it had left the animal. Walking across the carpet to his bed, she took a seat next to him, her hand rubbing softly on the sleeping puppy's stomach. "Are you upset?"

Pause.

"About you being Ichigo's mother?" he replied quietly. "I do not know." Yeah, it had come as a bit of a shock to him, but what could he do about it? What could _she_ do about it? He wasn't like Grimmjow, he didn't have a problem with anyone in the Kurosaki family. Yeah, he was a little angry that the only woman he'd ever viewed as a parental figure was now going to be shared among three more people, but, again, what could he do about it, aside from staying out of the way?

Grimmjow was bad enough to live with. Was he going to have to deal with his older brother's carbon copy too?

How depressing.

"Ulquiorra, I want you to know something," she started. He didn't look at her, but she knew he was listening. "You… you've always been kind of the odd one out. I know you don't connect well with other people, and I don't want you to feel pressured to do so now that… that our family is getting bigger. Lilynette has Karin, Yuzu and Nel. Grimmjow and Ichigo, though they bicker, are better friends then I think they realize. I just want you to know that no matter how out of place you may feel, you're not." His mouth tightened. "You're part of this family and you always will be whether you like it or not." She smiled. "And I will _always_ be here for you. Do you understand what I'm saying?" He nodded silently. "And, just so you know, I don't think Grimmjow or Ichigo would object to talking to you more often." She rubbed his shoulder. "It's okay to have friends."

"I know," he muttered and took a deep breath. "Thank you." She smiled slightly, but her brow furrowed soon after.

"There's something else bothering you… isn't there?" Forest green eyes darting up to meet hers momentarily, his shoulders suddenly dropped, his frown deepening even more than usual. That was when she saw it, the panicked worry enveloping his gaze. "What's wrong Ulquiorra?"

He let out a strangled sigh.

"I did something stupid," his face dropped even more if at all possible. Green orbs leaving hers, he stared helplessly at the puppy in his lap, his brows furrowing dangerously. Waiting, Harribel didn't say anything, she could be patient. "I wish I had not said anything to her at all."

Realization dawned on the older woman. "Orihime," she breathed and he stared back up at her again, his mouth dropping open ever so slightly as his face continued to deteriorate. "What happened?"

"I…" he was having a hard time repeating it. How had he even voiced it to begin with? Stupid hang over, stupid alcohol. If his brain hadn't been so frazzled the words never would have even come _near_ his tongue. "I told her that I… that I'm in _love_ with her." His eyes closed as soon as he let loose his burden, a grimace pulling at his rarely emotional mouth.

Eye widening momentarily, his guardian took a moment to digest what he'd said. But once she did, she relaxed, her lips forming into a soft smile.

"Ulquiorra," she soothed, "that's a good thing."

"No it is not," he snapped. This was really getting to him she realized. "She didn't say anything to me all day. She left before Tatsuki. She just… it was not like her at all. I… I screwed everything up." He was shaking his head now and Harribel sighed.

"No you didn't," she assured. "Love isn't something to be ashamed of. It's a gift Ulquiorra, a gift she gave to you." She shrugged, "So maybe she doesn't feel that strongly about you right now," he flinched. "Give her more time; let her know you're not expecting her to feel the same way. It all takes time." She rubbed his arm again.

"What if… what if she _never_ feels the same way?" he whispered. Honestly, he hadn't even considered their future, whether he and Orihime _actually_ had one. Yes, he would do anything for her, he'd stay with her always, but… but for the first time the thought of actually losing her… and not because of some stupid fight they had either. The fear of legitimately _losing_ her because she couldn't form the same feelings for him as he did her, it was terrifying. He could apologize after a fight, he could do all that was capable of him to protect her from danger, but he couldn't _make_ her love him.

That was impossible.

Harribel frowned. "Well… if that's the case then… then some things just aren't meant to be." His entire figure dropped in despair and she felt her own heart drop with his. Reaching up, she placed some of his long black locks behind his ear. "Oh honey," her lips tightened at the expression on his face. But what could she do?

"I didn't know it would feel like this," he whispered. "I didn't know it was supposed to _hurt_." Rubbing Princess behind the ears again, his gulped, his green eyes lost.

"Well you can't know yet," she assured. "Just… talk to her, it'll be okay." She dropped her hand to her lap. "I'm sorry, sometimes love does hurt," she knew that _very_ well. "But it's beautiful too. Just talk to her Ulquiorra, then you'll know where you stand." Taking a shaky breath, he nodded.

Standing, she held her hand out to him. "C'mon, dinner's going to be ready soon." Looking up at her, he seemed to contemplate her offer. Gingerly setting Princess to the side of the bed (the thing slept like a rock), he took her hand and she pulled him up. Smiling, she looked at him a few seconds longer before turning and leading the way out the door.

**oOo**

Grimmjow smiled to himself, his eyes lighting up. There he was, sitting at the bar looking as oblivious as ever. Head in his hands, he was leaning forward, watching as the three younger girls chatted in the kitchen. Yes, it was perfect. He'd never see him coming.

Stupid Strawberry.

Creeping his way forward, the sixth toed gingerly across the floor; his eyes alight with glee as he snuck up on his most favorite target. This was going to be rich. And the best part? He wasn't even hiding. The fool was that deep in thought. Well he'd think twice before letting his guard down in this house again.

Socked feet sneaking along the floor, he let his grin spread even further, his hands rising up and forming claws next to his head.

Ichigo yawned.

He laughed silently to himself.

Pausing for only a few seconds, he held his breath, his fingers tingling…

Eyes widening with anticipation…

His nails brushed his rival's shirt…

_And_…

"_**FUCK**_**BERRY**!"

"_Gaaahhhh_!" Brown eyes the size of saucers, Ichigo whipped around just fast enough to throw the stool out of balance. Arms flailing, the chair he'd been occupying for the last twenty minutes went souring out from under him as he toppled over backwards. Striking the floor, he just vaguely heard Grimmjow cackling manically above him before his tail bone cracked against the hard surface below him.

On the other side of the bar he also registered hysterical laugher, all of it at his expense.

"**Dammit Grimmjow**!" he swore as he closed his eyes in pain, his hand rubbing at his behind. "What the hell was that for?" Plopping a squat on the one of the stools next to the one Ichigo had previously been in, Grimmjow put all his weight into one side, the chair spinning around in circles.

"For existing," he stated calmly, that sadistic grin still gracing his features as he continued to spin. Growling, the orange haired teenager surged to his feet, his eyes glaring death into the blue haired menace.

"I'm going to _kick_ your _ass_!" he roared. Grimmjow stuck his tongue out as he spun by the angry strawberry and Ichigo had half a mind to grab it and yank it out of his mouth.

"I swear to _god_!" glancing past the sixth, Ichigo caught sight of two more figures entering the room. Grimmjow spotted them as well and kept his eyes on them for as long as possible while his body continued to spin in circle after circle. "If either of you swears again," she pointed a golden nail at them, "you're both going to Grimmjow's room without any dinner, _together_."

Ichigo thought Grimmjow was going to _fly_ out of his chair at that one. Gaping, the two stared at each other for only a second, the stool had stopped its spinning, before they both crossed their arms over their chests and glared, the sixth snarling.

"If you'd learn to shut your mouth," he hissed and Ichigo's lips tightened in anger.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he replied heatedly, "you're the one that-"

"Okay you two," Harribel crossed her arms under her breasts as she yelled at them. "If you're going to keep acting like this then take it outside." The two contemplated the notion, slow smiles creeping onto both their faces. Apparently reading each other's minds, they jumped into action, darting towards the living room.

Their mother hen sighed. "And stay in your bodies!" she yelled after them as Grimmjow was reaching for the sliding glass door. Shoulders dropping, the two were suddenly dejected and with a slothful kind of drag, they made their way over to the couches. Sitting across from each other, they continued to glare.

"I don't see why you guys fight so much," Lilynette stated as she and Karin stood in living room just outside the circle of furniture. "I mean, why don't you see the positives in this situation?" Positives? There were none. Growling, both boys made apparent that they thought as much.

Karin rolled her eyes. "You two are stupid," she shook her head. They in turn whipped their heads to glare at her. She wasn't fazed though. It was then that Grimmjow's face suddenly cleared, his blue eyes sharpening. Turning back to Ichigo, he vaulted over the empty space between them and landed skillfully on the couch next to him.

Shocked, the orange haired shinigami almost rose to his feet, but the sixth had wrapped his arm around his shoulders and was staring pointedly at the kitchen.

"You see that black haired dweeb?" he motioned to Ulquiorra and Ichigo struggled under his strong hold. "He's the bane of my existence," turning back to face the strawberry, the blue haired teenager frowned.

"Yeah, what do you want me to do about it?" he asked as his shoulders slumped under his rivals arm.

"You're going to help me to-"

"I don't care what you're planning," Ichigo hissed, "I don't want anything to do with it." Grimmjow's face dropped and he leaned dangerously close to his rival's face, his eyes narrowed as they came nose to nose.

"You will soon, once you realize how annoying he is," the sixth replied quietly. "Just you wait." Patting the orange haired teen on the cheek mockingly, he rose to his feet and strolled back out into the kitchen. Ichigo seethed behind him, glaring after him with irritation plastered all over his face.

Karin and Lilynette sighed.

**oOo**

"Miss Arisawa?" the hatted man raised his eyebrows from his spot sitting inside his shop. "What can I do for you on this lovely night?" The black haired karate champion placed a single hand on her left hip, her face empty. Urahara waited patiently for her to answer.

"Grimmjow got his powers back," she stated and the blonde man remained silent as she sighed. "Now he's like Ichigo and all them. Chad has powers, Uryu has powers, Orihime has powers. Everyone can fight except me."

The candy salesman turned away as he realized what she was getting at.

"Ulquiorra doesn't have any power," he stated and she growled.

"I know I have the potential," she continued. "I can see ghosts, I can harness a little bit of spirit energy, and I know you need warriors on your side. I can help, you know I can. I just need the right kind of training." Turning back to her, the blonde man sipped at a cup of tea, his expression thoughtful.

Tatsuki waited.

**oOo**

"Gah! I hate this fuckin' place!" the blue haired teenager spat as they strolled across the school roof. Ulquiorra held back the need to roll his eyes seeing as Ichigo had taken the liberty himself.

"Why?" Orihime pouted. "Why does everyone hate school except me…?" No one replied to her inquiry, the reasons were obvious, and instead they settled themselves into a circle for one of their last lunches outside. It was growing too cold and they'd have to invade the cafeteria soon.

Ichigo growled.

"These pants are too fucking big," he grumbled as he pulled them back up around his waist. Grimmjow turned to him, snarling.

"Well maybe if they weren't _mine_ you wouldn't have to worry about it!" he spat and Ichigo glared at him evenly, sparks flying dangerously between them. Both Rukia and Tatsuki rolled their eyes beside their significant others as they opened their lunches.

The news had spread like wildfire. Like some kind of telepathic email system, what had occurred at the Hollow House was now known to anyone who might have the slightest inkling to care. Thus everyone had waited patiently for anyone who lived there to show up at school.

Well no one had at first. The bell had rung and then five minute later the three tardy teenagers had burst through the door, thrown apologies at their instructor, and taken their seats. Via whispers and notes, three things had been determined. 1) It was true, Harribel was Ichigo's mother. 2) They were late because they'd overslept. 3) Ichigo was wearing one of Grimmjow's uniforms. All these things had then been found to coincide with each other.

They were late because they'd all been up too late in the Hollow House. Everyone had fallen asleep there in one way or another. Dawn had rolled around and no one had woken up. Luckily, Harribel was a morning person and had awoken early enough to get her children moving before all hope was lost. The only thing was that Ichigo and Yuzu (Karin had lessons at Urahara's) didn't have their school stuff. They didn't have enough time to go home if they wanted any luck getting to school on time, thus Grimmjow, after many objections, was forced to let Ichigo borrow one of his uniforms and anything else the orange haired teenager would need for school, pencils, paper, etc (he'd just have to borrow textbooks from his teachers). Yuzu had fit quite well into one of Lilynette's Junior High uniforms, but Ichigo didn't have the same luck.

"Maybe if you weren't so _fat_!" Ichigo rebuked and the sixth growled. With a collective sigh, the group ignored the two as they rolled around the roof, biting and clawing.

"I feel so bad for that woman," Uryu muttered as he opened his lunch. "It's one thing to have to deal with one of them, but two? That's like a kind of punishment or something." Despite his silence, Ulquiorra whole heartedly agreed. It had only been one night of the two being together and he was already wearing thin on patience.

And he had _a_ _lot_ of patience.

"I've heard horror stories about teenage boys," Rukia started, "and now Harribel has to deal with three of them. They're going to burn the house down." Ulquiorra glared over at the short shinigami. Why was he being included in this?

"You guys act like we're going to be living under the same roof or something," Ichigo came back into the conversation as he opened the bag of leftovers his mother had given him that morning. Despite how juvenile it was, he wasn't afraid to say that yes, his mother had packed his lunch.

Yumichika cocked his head to the side curiously. "You're not?" The invading shinigami were also attending Karakura High while they were around, at least whenever they felt like it. Sharing a similar mindset as Renji, it was more exciting than doing nothing all day. And Ikkaku was _not_ going to stay in Keigo's house all day with his crazy sister who never left because she hadn't gotten into college yet.

"No," Ichigo stated, his voice irritated. Thought whether that was due to their topic of conversation or just his normal mood, none could tell. They were however waiting for him to elaborate. He sighed, "My dad didn't say two words to her, he just left." A few skeptical glances were thrown around the group. "I don't know what his problem is, but it's pissing me off."

"Well, Ichigo," Rukia tried to reason with him. "Maybe he's just… shocked." He didn't reply to her, just continued to rip into his lunch angrily. They all fell silent momentarily before Tatsuki huffed.

"In any case," she started, "you guys are going to be spending a lot of time together. I just hope you don't rip each other apart, you bicker enough as it is, I don't want to know what you two will do to each other _outside_ your bodies."

Both Ichigo and Grimmjow slumped their shoulders.

"Don't worry about that," the sixth muttered. "As part of our punishment we aren't allowed to leave are bodies for the next three months unless there is an obvious hollow threat that can't be handled by the dozen other spiritual beings hanging around this damn town." A few giggles erupted from the people sitting around them.

"Looks like Harribel knows how to get things done," Uryu snickered a little longer than everyone else and both Grimmjow and Ichigo glared death into him. The Quincy didn't seem to care though, he was enjoying their misery.

"Well I'd prefer you stay in one piece," Rukia patted Ichigo on the knee, not even bothering to look up at him. "And I'm sure Orihime gets tired of healing people all the time. If you guys were allowed to run rampant at each other she'd never get a spare second." Despite her reason, her significant other knew it was her way of voicing her concern. In other words, he needed to _not_ fight Grimmjow to the brink of death; else he'd have to deal with her.

Turning to Tatsuki, Grimmjow grinned as charmingly as he could with his overly sharp canines, his eyebrows raised expectantly. She in turn paused as she raised her sandwich to her lips, one of her own eyebrows cocking upwards.

"I don't care what you do," she stated and he frowned as she once again focused on consuming her sandwich. It was obvious by the blue haired teenager's expression that he'd been expecting a little more from her.

"You're not worried at all?" he asked irritably, his arms crossing over his chest. "I mean, Ichigo and I are known for trying to kill each other. You're not at all worried about my wellbeing? Not even a little bit?"

"No," she replied without a second thought.

"You're such a bitch," he decided as he turned away from her. A few curious looks were thrown around the group and then Ichigo sat back as he seemed to suddenly recall something. Turning to Tatsuki, he grinned wickedly, an expression very rarely seen on his face.

"That's right," he started, "I saw you and Grimmjow last night, you were putting your shir-"

"Ichigo," Tatsuki fumed, "we've been friends a long time, but if you say one more word I will not hesitate to pummel you to a pulp just like back when we kids." Apparently very familiar with her wrath, the orange haired shinigami backed down, his face sulky.

Grimmjow laughed.

"You jealous Kurosaki?" he asked and Tatsuki sighed. "Jealous that I'm getting more action than you?" The karate champion scowled as she tried to ignore the two idiotic men next to her.

Ichigo bristled.

"You don't know that," he hissed and Rukia gaped at him. He wasn't paying attention to her though. Suddenly, understanding crossed the faces of those who didn't know and they stared between Grimmjow and Tatsuki with skeptical eyes.

"Sure I do," Grimmjow continued to taunt. "If you were getting anything relatively close to what I am you wouldn't be such a temperamental cock-bag all the time." This comment, though completely contradictory on the sixths part seeing as he was just as moody as Ichigo, didn't go unnoticed by each males significant other.

"Alright, this conversation needs to end here," Tatsuki commanded angrily. Turning to face her, Grimmjow grinned again, his eyes staring at her with that blistering blue that should only stay behind closed doors. _Not_ appropriate for school. Clenching her fists, she narrowed her eyes in turn, irritated that he was the only male willing to challenge her without fear.

What had she gotten herself into?

"Yes, it does," Rukia agreed as she angrily ate her lunch. Maybe Ichigo wasn't getting the action Grimmjow was, but it certainly wasn't _her_ fault. As if to affirm this fact, her boyfriend stared at her with sad, embarrassed eyes, his face flushing. No one else seemed to notice the exchange though, other than Renji who held back a laugh.

"This is so unfair," Keigo pouted. "Why can't _I_ get a girlfriend?"

No one answered.

**oOo**

Toshiro sighed as he leaned against the brick wall, the wind whipping through his white hair as he stared contemplatively at the grass below his feet, the lawn outside Orihime's currently empty apartment.

Yes, he'd noticed the powerful reiatsu when Grimmjow had attacked Ichigo, the reiatsu that was quickly covered by Tessai at Urahara's command. He and his team had watched the transformation from a sky view. Of course the others below had probably noticed them, but apparently their presence hadn't made a difference.

He hadn't like what he'd seen of course. And more recent news made things even more difficult for him. Tatsuki Arisawa had called Inoue with some news that the orange haired girl had quickly relayed to her housemates, him and Rangiku. The fact that Tia Harribel was Karin's mother made things very difficult for him, very difficult indeed.

He knew what Soul Society's reaction to the hollow's current life would be. They were war criminals, Yamamoto and many of the other captains would demand that they come before the new Central 46 to face their punishment. It wouldn't be death, but… well it wouldn't be a lenient sentence either.

He had to report soon…

What could he say? He knew Ichigo's personality, he knew Karin's. If a warrant for the Espada's arrest was sent out, the two would now waste no time in betraying Soul Society to keep the Espada safe. That would then make them criminals and warrants for their arrest would have to be issued as well.

From there the situation would only escalate.

How would Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai react? He liked to think they would do their duty, but, well, he also had his doubts. They were far too close to Ichigo, especially Rukia. He knew Ikkaku and Yumichika would do as ordered, he knew Rangiku would too despite how she would loath it.

He knew he would do the same…

The thought caused him to furrow his eyebrows. It was disconcerting. The more time he spent hanging around these Espada, keeping Urahara's secret, the more he felt as though he were betraying Soul Society. Yet when he considered telling them, he felt as though he were betraying those he was now unwillingly protecting.

This was bad; he was too attached to these humans. He never should have promised Karin he'd stay quiet. He should have just gone to Soul Society and reported his findings, even if it didn't deal directly with his mission in Karakura.

If he'd done that though…

He'd been spending a lot of time with Karin and her friend Lilynette. The green haired girl wasn't out for blood, she wasn't evil, he would swear on that. Yet he had the power to seal her doom forever. A little girl… Granted, a dangerous one, but she didn't want to use her power to cause trouble. She was just trying to live her life and love her family. What right did he have to impede on that? What right did Soul Society?

No, they were war criminals…

Karin's mother was a war criminal…

What was he supposed to do?

His watch beeped on his wrist and he glanced down at it, his turquoise gaze softening. He was supposed to be meeting Karin at Urahara's for her daily training session with him, training he had promised her at Urahara's encouragement…

Karin…

Why did his life always seem so complicated?

**oOo**

"It hasn't changed a bit in the last month," Nnoitra spat as he stared down at the incomplete and invisible body lying across the lab table in front of him. "Why has it stopped growing?" Szayel growled at his companion's question.

"Because all our plans have failed," he seethed as he typed angrily at a keyboard. "It has nothing to feed off of, thus its progression has slowed to a complete stop." Yes, there was a damper on his plans. And with the forces that now occupied that town, it would be very difficult to get things going again.

"Well do somthin' about it," Nnoitra stated and his partner glared at him. "Although, after hearin' what that Candy Man said, maybe it's better that we leave it like this." Szayel scoffed at what Nnoitra was referring to. Their last attack on the real world, where he'd used some of his fun experiments to screw with those shinigami, had revealed the depth of Urahara's knowledge of their plans.

It had been unexpected really, when Ichigo Kurosaki had dropped the fake Grimmjow's body into the clearing with his comrades, the bleeding corpse still fully equipped with all Szayel's sensors. Yes, despite what those idiots thought of his intelligence, he was fully aware that he couldn't control the being he was creating.

He'd never had the intention of doing so.

It was welcome to control him all it wanted when the time came, just so long as he could get his powers back. Neither him nor Nnoitra were able to harness their release forms again, the soul wasn't outputting enough reiatsu to grant them that yet, but once it was finished…

Well, Urahara's little army of human hybrids wouldn't even stand a chance.

"You're a fool," the pink haired man stated as he stood and walked over to the table where Nnoitra was staring. "You want to be more powerful? Well this is the only way you're going to reach that point again. It doesn't matter how hard you train. Unless we're constantly among his reiatsu, we won't get any stronger. And once he's complete…"

"We'll be ten times as powerful, I know," the fifth sighed. "If he doesn't kill us all first."

"He won't," the eighth assured with as smile. "He'll want his revenge and he'll need our help. Sure he's powerful, but he can't take on those humans and Soul Society by himself. He's tired of being trapped and once he's free, he won't stop until his jailer is destroyed."

"Well what are you planning then?" the fifth had seen the sudden change in his fellow's expression, he was on to something. "We got to get this thing started up again."

"I know what to do," he laughed shortly. "I know what kind of trouble to cause…"

**oOo**

Leaning against the bar, he watched her. Watched her with intent and amazement. Like some kind of angel, she fluttered about the house, her back turned to him as she moved her body to the beat. It was a kind of dance; she'd move the cloth along the window, the process hardly able to be labeled as a chore as she swayed to and fro, the Spanish serenade echoing around her. He'd seen this routine before, the same dance to the same song.

_So_ many times before.

He needed to talk to her, he needed answers. And when he'd finally found the courage to enter her house, this was what he'd found. His wife being herself to the core. He'd been hypnotized, thus all he could do was stare.

He couldn't hear her over the music, but he knew she was humming, her flowered skirt swaying in the wind she created. He knew she was off key, she was completely tone deaf, and he knew she didn't care because it made the tedious job of cleaning the house that much more bearable to her.

And as she finally turned to him, he knew she'd taken a sudden breath in surprise, her entire form freezing as the music continued on.

He held out his hand and beckoned to her.

"Take a walk with me," he stated simply and blinked once before he turned and walked back out the door the same way he'd come.

Stopping the music, she slipped on her shoes and a heavy jacket before exiting the house after him.

He stood at the end of her driveway, his hands shoved in the pockets of his long black trench coat. And as she approached him, he didn't look back at her, just started a slow pace down the street, his black shoes clacking against the concrete sidewalk as the wind whistled by them impatiently.

Following behind, she waited.

"You don't look anything like…" he finally said as they came upon a small park situated in the middle of their neighborhood. Mostly used by extremely small children, their own had outgrown it years ago. It had a single jungle gym and two creaking old swings. Taking the central path down through, Isshin didn't really register it was there.

"Of course not," she replied, her voice strong and determined against the wind, yet soft enough to ease his aching heart. "If hollows resembled the bodies the souls they had once inhabited, you wouldn't get strange looking characters like Grimmjow and Nel." He stopped in the middle of the park, his eyes turned down at the sidewalk as she continued. "I've gone through a great many changes Isshin," she clarified as she turned away from him, her gaze roving the park. "You thought of me as dead, but I've been living these eight years, living a life that most can't imagine." He closed his eyes at her explanation.

Would he have found her if he'd known where to look? Could he have stopped the terrible pain and horrors she had endured?

"And now I'm back," she shook her head, "but I'm not the same." Intertwining her fingers at her waist, she stared down at the sidewalk. "That's what I meant when I said I wasn't who you thought I was. But then again…" she glanced up at his back, "I think there was a time in our life together that you had to explain the same thing to me."

Yes, he remembered that time. The day he'd confessed to her who he was because they'd promised never to keep secrets from each other. When he'd explained what those horrible monsters were that she could see, the hollows. When he'd admitted to having been years older than he looked, when he'd relayed to her why he'd left that life and for whom.

For her.

She'd been patient and she'd believed every word he'd said. She hadn't thought he was insane; she'd stayed with him despite how his life differed from hers. Despite their age gap, despite everything.

Now she had a story to tell, a life apart from his.

"I'm sorry," he replied and shook his head. "If I hadn't given up my power… I could have protected you from… from all this." He heard her laugh behind him and he finally turned to face her.

"Between you and Ichigo, I don't know what to think," taking a step forward, her feet greeted the gravel encompassing the park. "It wasn't anyone's fault what happened. And looking back, despite the terrible life of a hollow, I'm grateful." Grabbing the chains of one of the swings, she leaned into the seat, her toes sweeping the ground as the instrument swayed back. "If I hadn't been a hollow, I never could have helped them. Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Lilynette, Starrk, Nel. I don't regret the lives I've lived, any of them."

"I never wanted you to be a part of this world," he shook his head, his brows furrowed.

"Isshin," she cocked her head to the side as he stared over at her swinging figure, "don't regret over things that can't be undone. I am part of your world now and there's nothing that can be done to change that. Life can always be imagined in a different light, but this is the reality.

"I _am_ a reality," she stared down at the ground sadly. "And I can be _your_ reality again if you let me."

"You _died_ Masaki," he whispered, the hurt and despair apparent in his tired voice. She flinched at his words, her lips tightening. "How… how do I even started to undo a truth that's… that's tortured me for so long?"

"Then don't think of it that way," she replied quietly, desperately. "I won't be Masaki, I'm Tia Harribel. Know her instead, forget about Masaki." She didn't know what else to do, she couldn't lose him. She'd waited so long to see him again…

"Forget about her?" he shook his head bitterly. "Do you know what you're asking me to do? You're asking me to forget about my wife, the woman I gave everything up for, the mother of my children, the love of my life." Her breath caught in her throat and she held back the tears that welled up inside her.

"What do you want me to do?" her question came out choked, her throat suddenly parched. "Tell me what you want me to do Isshin and I'll do it. Please," she was losing control, "I can't…" her hands went to her mouth as she felt the tears drop from her eyes, "I can't lose you again."

The swing dropped out from under her and she fell to the ground. Legs folded under her, she tried to get her emotions under control. Alas she was failing and the terrible sobs wracked her body.

"_I love you_," she breathed.

He could feel his heart constricting in his chest, his teeth clamping together painfully. What was he supposed to do? Why couldn't he just… just accept that she was alive? Why was he so intent on keeping her dead? No one was ever supposed to get a second chance at the same life. When someone died that was it, the end. He'd never dreamed he'd see her again, not while he still knew who she was. No one ever humored the thought of one of their loved ones coming back to life. It was too painful. Even shinigami, who knew all souls ended up in Soul Society one way or another, could bear to consider it.

Yet here she was, contradicting everything. This beautiful woman, and she still loved him. She'd been through hell and back, yet she still found the ability to love. She'd missed him as much as he'd missed her. So why couldn't he go to her?

Because…

Because he was afraid.

She'd terrified him since the day he'd met her. He'd been in a gigai then, hunting down some renegade shinigami that were holding themselves up in the real world. It had been a chance encounter. She hadn't been paying attention; he'd been reading his latest orders from above. And like a sign, they'd collided. She'd looked through him then, seen his soul despite how he hid it. It didn't matter that she didn't have any idea who he was, what he was, she could see him in and out.

He'd fallen in love with her then and there.

For a year he'd contemplated confronting her again. Every chance he got he'd take missions to the human world, even if they were below captain class assignments. He'd find a way to Karakura, he'd watched her, his heart growing more and more strained.

She'd been engaged then. To whom he couldn't remember, but he'd hated him. The day before she was supposed to get married, he'd finally broke. Relieving himself of all his power, he'd fled Soul Society, telling only one person where he was going, the only person that could possibly understand.

Byakuya Kuchiki.

The two had become captains at about the same time, they'd graduated from the same class, had been friends despite how the arrogant clan leader had opposed the notion. When Byakuya had decided to marry Hisana, Isshin had been the first one to know. And when she'd died, he had been around if needed.

The captain of the sixth squad hadn't broken any laws, but they'd both still committed the same sin. They'd both fallen in love with women they shouldn't have. So when Isshin had desperately begged that Byakuya understand, he had, and he'd let him escape before telling old man Yamamoto where he'd gone.

He'd found her that night, she'd remembered him, and he'd swept her off her feet.

He'd be a liar if he claimed he hadn't been afraid. He'd given up everything he'd known for her. He'd thrown himself into a world that would eat him alive. But they got through it, she helped him get through med school, she supported him even after she knew who he was.

But even that wasn't the most terrifying thing. The fact of the matter was that he was a shinigami, even without his power. It was a terrible thought, but he'd accepted it, seen it as inevitable. She would age, die, and leave him, yet he would look only about ten years older. He'd watch her wither away, he'd watch his children fade, he'd have to go back to Soul Society and face his punishment (they hadn't been able to find him then, having basically no reiatsu).

There had been a time when he'd been so scared of that thought that he'd considered leaving her, running away. But she'd convinced him to stay, convinced him instead to treasure every moment they had together, no matter how short that would be.

It had been even shorter than he'd been prepared for.

He knew when he'd entered that new life that not only would she age and die, but that she was fragile, that she was human. He been terrified for her every day that he loved her, and his worst fear had been realized. What little life they could have had together was cut even shorter, and it broke his heart.

He'd waited a long time to fall in love, he'd seen his best friend's heart shredded by it when _his_ love had been cut short, and now he'd suffered the same fate. Like Byakuya, he'd given up much for this thing called love, and it had betrayed him. It had left him broken with three small children, and he couldn't forgive it.

He'd closed off to it, sworn never to fall for its tricks again. He loved his children, yes, but he would never fall _in_ love again. He numbed himself to it, his heart had belonged to her, and it had died with her.

Yet now she was telling him she wasn't dead. He'd grown used to the hollowness of being without her, he'd begrudgingly accepted it. Yet if she was alive, then what was his heart? He'd given it to her and she was trying to give it back in turn, trying to revive it within him.

Why was he fighting her?

She was offering him something that he'd wanted since the day he'd had that first run-in with her. She was alive. She wasn't weak; her life wasn't threatened by small human considerations. She would live just as long as he would. She was a part of the world he came from, the world he'd given up for her.

The world he'd wanted to protect her from and had failed.

"You once p-promised me something," she started when his silent thoughts rang out around them. Focusing on her, he was pulled out of his revere. "You said that no matter w-what happened to us, no matter how m-many times we were reborn, no matter how many lives we lived, we would find each o-other in each one. Even though we wouldn't remember, it was inevitable that w-we meet again." Raising her gaze from the ground, her green eyes focused on his.

Those same eyes that he'd first encountered. It didn't matter that they were green instead of brown, that they were surrounded by blonde lashes instead of black. She could still pierce right through him. That was how he had known who she was when she'd yelled at him about being oblivious. It didn't matter that her outer appearance had changed; those eyes still had the same effect on him.

Her soul had the same effect on him.

But he hadn't been expecting to meet her again in this life, not when he still remembered the pain his love for her had brought him. He was terrified of it, of feeling that pain again. He knew better now, so how could he possibly take that risk all over again?

How did he even begin?

"In our vows we said that not even d-death would do us part," she continued and his mouth dropped open slightly, the silent ache at the center of his being suffocating him as her words rushed through him, "because we would find each other even then." She closed her eyes tightly, tears streaking her tanned cheeks as she took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Were those words nothing but that, just words?"

"No," he stated quickly, his voice breaking.

"Then why can't you accept me?" she opened her eyes again, and he felt naked before her.

"I..." he had to divert his gaze to the ground. "I am... afraid... of losing you again. I'm not strong enough... to lose you again." He pursed his lips, his focus on the pebbles at his feet. Even as he heard her get up, her soft footsteps making their way over to him, he couldn't face her.

He was so afraid...

"Isshin," she whispered, her warm hands caressing his face. Slowly, she pulled him up to look at her, a single tear dropping down his cheek as she stared up at him. "You won't lose me," she stated softly and he closed his eyes, his heart breaking for her, feeling, again, for her. "You never did."

He gulped, his face cringing as he opened his eyes again, his fear obvious in every breath he took.

"I love you," it was so soft that she barely heard his gruff voice. "I love you so much."

Blinking back the emotion welling behind her eyes, she released a shaking sigh as his trembling hands pulled her closer to him. She placed her forehead against his, their breath intermingling in the cool autumn air.

The tips of their noses brushed.

"I love you Masaki."

**oOo**

"I need to speak with you," he had been hesitant about drawing her attention to him. They'd barely said two words to each other all day. And even those had been obviously forced on her part. She'd been avoiding his gaze, his touch, everything about him.

Well he couldn't take it anymore.

He'd followed her after school despite how that annoying shinigami woman had been with her. He'd caught up with her and hesitantly grabbed her wrist. Thus he stood looking down into her worried grey eyes.

"Okay," she said quietly. Rangiku gave them both a curious look and his Woman turned to her with a reassuring smile. "Just keep heading home, I'll be there later." Nodding, the strawberry blonde only paused for a moment longer before she once again picked up her feet and walked away.

They stood together in the cold, her eyes on the ground, his eyes on her.

"I am sorry," he finally stated and her gaze whipped up to meet his. "I never should have said that to you." He didn't know why he should have kept his mouth shut, but maybe if he took it back then they could go on like nothing had even happened.

Yeah right.

"What?" her brows furrowed together. "What do you mean?"

"If I had kept it to myself then you would not feel so uncomfortable around me," he sighed, his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his green coat. "I never should have said anything." He stared down at the sidewalk, fearing every word that would come out of her mouth.

"Ulquiorra I…" She shook her head.

"I am not expecting… expecting that you feel the same way," he couldn't look at her, she couldn't see the way his eyes were portraying how distraught he was. He would not worry her over his trivial emotions. "Do not feel obligated to say you do, just know that… that I do feel that way about you, and that I do not have any hopes that you will reply in a similar way."

"Ulquiorra…" she twined her finger together by her chin, "I don't… I don't know." She knew he was lying, she knew him too well to ignore that truth. He was upset that she couldn't return his affections. But what was she supposed to say, other _than_ the truth?

She didn't know if she loved him.

Honestly? She hadn't expected him to say something like that before she did. Yet he had, unintentionally or not, which meant that his feelings for her had developed faster than her own. But it had always been like that hadn't it? The first day they'd talked, officially, up in his room, she'd seen his want of her in his eyes. She'd teased him about it for he hadn't apparently realized it was there, but she knew.

She'd known before that though. Back in Las Noches… he'd started to develop feelings for her, even if they were vague and hardly there. She'd _known_ that.

So why had his confession come as such a shock to her?

"That is fine," he muttered and they fell into an awkward silence, one that she wanted to quickly alleviate.

"I'm sorry I was distant today," she started. "I was just… still surprised I guess. I'm sorry Ulquiorra." He was shaking his head before she'd even finished her apology, his eyes finally coming up to meet hers. And they were empty.

He'd learned how to hide from her.

When had he done that?

"Do not be sorry," he insisted. "You said it yourself that the heart does as it pleases. You cannot control yours any more than I can control mine. So do not be sorry." She felt terrible. They'd been doing so well, and now this was making things discomfited. But she didn't dare lie to him, if she did then… then if she never developed feelings of love for him, he'd be heartbroken when it came out. She refused to do that to him.

She thought she knew what love was. She'd been in love with Ichigo hadn't she? That was all she had to compare it to. But he was so different than Ichigo; it was hardly a comparison in the end. She honestly hadn't considered what her feelings for Ulquiorra amounted to. When she'd realized she was in love with Ichigo, it had just… happened. She'd woken up one day and known she loved him.

So to ask her the question, did she love Ulquiorra?

She didn't know…

"You have things to do I'm sure," he took a step back from her. "So I will not hinder your progress any longer." Her face dropped and she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. It was like… like someone had pressed the pause button on their relationship. What did that mean? "I will see you tomorrow," he assured quickly. Nodding once, he turned away from her and she still failed to say a single word to him.

She watched him walk away from her.

That had never happened before. Whenever she'd walked away, he'd come after her. She'd gone after him too. Yet now she was letting him go. What did that mean?

It scared her.

"Ulquiorra!" the name jumped from her throat before she'd even realized it had been on her tongue. He turned immediately, the desperate tone of her voice causing him alarm. She could see it in his green eyes, his instantaneous concern for her.

His love for her.

Her throat was dry; she couldn't find anything else to say to him. But her feet were carrying her forward; her body knew what to do, even if her head didn't. But she'd told him something along those lines once hadn't she, that maybe the body new better than the mind?

That her heart would carry her forward where her thoughts would deter her?

She reached her hand out to him, as if to catch him before he left. She could see his face between her fingers, but this time… this time he wasn't fading away. This time, as he lifted his hand to hers in turn, she would hold him.

They were only a hairs breadth away, and as her fingers went to touch his, her voice returned.

"Ulquiorra, I-"

It was quickly stifled.

Stumbling forward, she gasped, her eyes widening as her hands dropped to her waist. She didn't know what was going on, all she could register was the way his face dropped in horror, how his green eyes stretched, how his eyebrows furrowed. His lips dropped open, a gust of wind blowing his hair out of his face as it came up behind her.

She could feel it, the protrusion that had stopped her in her tracks. It was sharp, it cut her hands as she gripped it. No wonder…

No wonder it had ripped right through her.

Blood, yes there was blood too. Her blood, splashed all over the sidewalk, all over her uniform. All over _him_.

Had she… been stabbed?

Why… why would someone…

He was fading away again, right before her eyes…

She was so cold…

She would never get to tell him that she…

That she…

"_**ORIHIME**_!" his heart stopped, his lungs froze, his whole body watched in helpless fear as the blade ran through her, as the blood flashed across his vision. Her silver gaze widened in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing as she clenched the sword in her small hands, her mind slowly processing what had happened.

It ran at much the same pace as his, which could only mean they were too slow.

_He_ was too slow.

He'd never even seen it coming.

And as her eyes dulled, as her body fell forward, as the weapon was pulled from her waist, he could only watch.

He could not save her.

He was too _weak_ to save her.

"Sorry about that," a voice laughed into his ear. "I'd been aiming for you, but she jumped in the way. Oh well, I guess it doesn't really make a difference whether it's one or two of you."

Blood spurting from his mouth, his body jerked as that same blade was thrust through his chest.

Thrust through his _heart_.

And as he fell, he saw only her empty eyes before he was engulfed in darkness.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

Oh noes!

:DDDDDDDDD

I… I think that's the first time in the whole story that Ulquiorra has said Orihime's name. Amazing. Enough about that though, I don't want to accidentally give anything way.

Harribel has quite the job ahead of her, no? All those kids. And Ulquiorra is SOOOOOO cute, luff him bein' all insecure.

Tatsuki... yeah, it's about time she got some sweet ass powers. She's gonna need em' in order to be around Grimmjow.

I feel bad for Toshiro, he is torn. Hopefully he picks the right decision.

I really liked the Isshibel scene. And I LOVE the idea of Byakuya and Isshin having been friends. I have NO idea if this is somehow not possible in the manga, but I don't really care, lol.

And then that ending, WTF? Well you'll just have to wait till the next chapter, though I can't guarantee that that will offer any more understanding. It is however entirely about Orihime and Ulquiorra, so be excited ^-^

Speaking of Ulquihime, I have uploaded a new story about them, so feel free to check it out! It's going to be a hilariously good time (hopefully) though I'm having a little trouble organizing it, but we'll see how things play out I guess.

Love even though you now hate me!

Toodles

R&R PLEASE!


	21. My Perverse Type of Wonderland

**The Definition of Love**

_"I **found **myself in **Wonderland**_  
_ Get **back **on my **feet** again_  
_ Is this **real**?_  
_ Is this **pretend**?_  
_ I'll **take **a **stand **until the **end**_

_ I, I'll **get by**_  
_ I, I'll **survive**_  
_ When the **world's crashing down**_  
_ When I **fall **and **hit the ground**_  
_ I will **turn **myself **around**_  
**_ Don't you try to stop me_**  
_ I, I won't **cry"**_

_**Alice in Wonderland - Avril Lavigne  
**_

**Chapter 21: My Perverse Type of Wonderland**

He gasped. Jolting upright, his hand went to his chest, his breathing labored as he closed his eyes against the imaginary pain running through his heart. Yes, it was imaginary, a memory of what had happened for as he breathed, he came to the conclusion that he was not dying. Somehow, he was alive.

If he was alive then she…

Laying back down, he willed his lungs to calm, his racing heart to return to a normal pace. And as he opened his eyes, he saw...

He saw...

White.

Everything was white. The ceiling was white, the walls were white. And as he leaned up again, more slowly this time, he saw that the floor was white, the bed in which he laid was white, the fabric he was clothed in was white.

No way.

Not possible.

What the _hell_ was going on?

Standing up quickly, he saw a single mirror hanging on the barren wall. A mirror he'd never used, a mirror he'd never found a reason to use. Vanity, when he'd been in possession of that mirror, had never crossed his mind. What he looked like, he hadn't cared.

But now...

Placing his hand against the glass, he gulped at what he saw, his mouth falling open as his green eyes widened. He'd say he had paled, but alas he couldn't tell. His skin showed no emotion, aside from what was permanently etched down his cheeks. Two single green tear streaks stood out like horrible brands, and his blackened upper lip took on a more sinister light the longer he stared at it. His nails were growing black, contrasting greatly against his skull white skin.

Atop his head, weighing down his hair, was half a bone helmet.

His hands started to shake.

What was going on? This didn't make any sense. Only seconds ago he could have sworn he'd been killed, that his human body been torn asunder by the cold steel of a zanpakuto, Nnoitra's blade. Yet now... now he stood in a familiar room, a room he'd tried to forget, a room in a place that haunted his dreams.

He stood in Las Noches.

He was cold. Gripping his throat, he felt his nerves continue to fray at the nothingness he felt. No pulse, no blood, just armored skin as cold and hard as ice. He breathed out of habit, he didn't have to. He shook because his brain was conflicted, it wasn't normal, not for this body, not for this place.

Gripping the zipper below his chin, he gulped as he pulled it downward, fear surging through him as each tooth broke apart. And as it breached his collar bone, as it took a few more centimeters of distance, he saw it.

The hole.

A hollows mark.

Stumbling backwards, he found the bed and sank gingerly down onto its stiff surface. This didn't make any sense. He was a human, he'd left this life behind, had never wanted to return to it... hadn't he?

A terrible thought gripped him. A dream. He's woken up just now, afraid he'd been killed and then awakened to find himself already dead. He'd lived like this for over… he didn't know how many years, trekking across Hueco Mundo trying to find something he dreamt about yet couldn't grasp.

A dream...

Had it all truly been?

His logical mind said yes, he'd made it all up. Why should it be true? The time he'd spent there, thinking he was human, was minuscule in comparison to the life he'd lead in Hueco Mundo. Yet, despite this, even if it all had been a dream, he was changed. He couldn't think the same way. He'd lived a momentary life of someone else entirely, and despite this body, he felt like that man.

Was it all a dream?

He couldn't accept that. Yet it made sense.

He needed to find her.

Standing, he pushed to the front of the barren room and threw the door open. It made no sound as it hissed through the air, but then banged loudly as it smacked against the cold wall of the palace.

And like some electric shock, he was shaken to a stop.

Ulquiorra Cifer didn't get angry. He didn't throw doors or act in a panic. He didn't cause a commotion. He didn't doubt what he could see, what was real. He was cold and detached. There was no reason to act with such foolishness.

He didn't need to draw attention to himself.

Taking a deep breath, he took a quick right, his white pants billowing around his legs as he shoved his hands carelessly into his pockets. He knew not what time it was, but what did hollow care for the time? It was always night in Hueco Mundo.

He knew this path well, too well. Up the stairs, to the right, to the left, down another flight of stairs to a stretched hallway, a hallway that opened up to the fake sunlight of the dome beyond. Through the sand and to the northwest. A single tower with a locked door and small, barred windows that looked out into the desert with its eternally crescent shaped moon.

A prison.

Pushing the door open, he glanced up a spiraling set of white stairs surrounded by white walls. White doors were interspersed throughout, but they didn't deter him. He knew which door he was searching for. He'd picked it personally, another disgusting mind trick he'd played on her to gain control, control he'd never actually have ever attained. It was near the top and faced directly north. The single window had three bars, and beyond them was a constant view of the never changing moon.

A sign of hope. A cruel way to keep her spirits up so he could slowly crush them. A torture.

The door sat before him, stock still. And as he pushed it open, he saw a deep hallway, one that stretched on and on, eventually splitting right and left. Black boots tapping against the shallow floor, he took the right side of the fork.

Legs pressing him on faster, it was only seconds until he saw it, the final barrier, the final door. Carved out against the white wall, it sat, waiting and unlocked for him, her caretaker, her babysitter.

Her loathed torturer.

Pulling the door open, he was greeted by darkness, quite the contrast to the forever lit halls of Las Noches. His entrance cast a light into the room, reflecting off only a few objects laid therein. I couch, a toilet and sink, a small table and chair.

A body.

She was curled up on the floor, her school uniform dirtied and mussed from being worn too long. Her burnt orange hair was pooled around her face as she laid it on the floor beneath the lonely window casting only slivers of light into the room. She shook with sobs, her distress echoing around the chambers as the door slid the rest of the way open.

Upon the light from the hall flashing into the room, she jumped, her head whipping up from the ground to stare, wide eyed, at him. Her silver gaze, despite being terrified, was as clear as ever, as beautiful as he could remember.

"W-what do you want?" she stuttered as she rose shakily to her feet. She wiped her hand across her face as she stood though it did little in removing the tear stains from her cheeks. "You said you weren't coming back for another six hours…"

Six hours…

She didn't know who he was. She did, yet at the same time she didn't. He was Ulquiorra Cifer, the monster, the hollow, her kidnapper. Not her loved one. Never to be such.

All of it… it had all been a dream…

Just a figment of his overactive imagination, a fabrication that had changed him forever, had altered his being so much that he could never go back. He wasn't hollow anymore, and all because of some made-up version of this woman that he could not escape, that he loved.

A love that she would never return. So _this_ was what heartbreak felt like…

This was what Harribel had implied when she'd said some things were never meant to be…

Why had he even allowed himself to hope that she would know him? That _this_ was the dream and reality was waiting beyond? Fruitless, that's what it was. It served him no purpose, yet that hope was ripping his insides to shreds one terrible strip at a time. He felt empty, his limbs stiff, his head heavy. He _ached_.

He wanted to be sick.

Gulping, he took hold of the doorframe for support. His legs were shaking, his stuttering breath making him dizzy. So this was his punishment then? For being a monster? Fate bestowed upon him knowledge of a life he'd never live only to drop him back into reality with emotions and feelings that would plague him the rest of his life.

It wasn't fair…

He'd tried to be a good person. He'd learned to love, to care, to feel…

So why did he have to return to _this_ with nothing more than memories of _that_, nothing to back them up? Death was better. He'd never wished for death, _real_ death, more than he did at that moment. Sweet relief from this terrible life. From this perverse existence.

From everything he'd never wanted to be again.

"Are… are you alright?" her voice rang out above the silence, but he barely registered it. He was too distraught to listen. His trembling fingers clawed at his hair, his forehead leaning heavily against the doorframe. His legs couldn't support him, they fell out from beneath him and he sank to the floor.

"No," he muttered and squeezed his eyes shut, his knuckles turning white as he fisted the black locks growing atop his skull, the bone helmet only hindering his self mutilation. "No, no, **no**!" This had to be a dream, this couldn't be real. Las Noches was gone, Aizen was gone, he was human. A human, a human, a **human**! "Wake _up_!" It wasn't working! Even as he pulled his hair out by the strand, even as he grabbed the mask attached to his skull and tried to pry it free, none of the pain was enough to rouse him from this nightmare.

Even as he bled, even as the ache in his nonexistent heart intensified, none of it was strong enough to jolt him awake. He was stuck here, stuck here forever in this hopeless spiral of death and decay. In the world he had tried so hard to let go…

He was going insane.

"Please… please stop… stop doing that," his green eyes drifted over to her, the fear in her voice drawing him out of his self pity. She stood below the window, her back against the wall as she stared at him with wide eyes. She gulped when their gazes met, and for a moment they stared at each other in silence.

"You are shivering," he stated lamely as her trembling body jolted at the sound of his cold voice. It was a stupid observation really. Hueco Mundo didn't have a sun by day, of course it was cold. The only thing keeping it somewhat livable was the heat from the deranged souls that inhabited it. And she stood in a skirt and light sweater.

She didn't say anything to him; she waited with wary eyes for him to do something. To approach her, to manipulate her, to try and strike fear into her. To hurt her. She was on guard, she didn't know what to expect, but the worst was a safe assumption. Thus she dreaded his reason for coming to her.

If only she knew…

He would never hurt her. He had laid meticulous plans to draw her into their play, and now all those had evaporated. It didn't matter that he was a hollow, that she was human, and that she had no idea the feelings he felt for her. It didn't matter that this woman standing before him could be the complete opposite of the one he had created in his head while he'd slept, an activity hollow rarely initiated in as it was. None of that made a difference.

Dream or not, he'd vowed he live for her. That's all he could do. He loved her, be it a fictitious her or not, thus he had no choice but to protect her. Protect her from everything, from the war, from Aizen, from the other Espada. From himself.

He had no choice.

**oOo**

How many days had it been since he'd woken up? He didn't know, he hadn't been counting. It was strange how easy it was to fall back into the same routines. But his dream at being a human had been a considerable amount shorter than his life as a hollow, of course it was to be expected that returning to normal would come quickly.

Despite this, he was still messed up. Every time he saw her, there was that pang that was quickly starting to irritate him. He'd say it was driving him crazy, but he was already insane. Insane over her, over his life. But, he supposed, it would all end in due time. Today marked that.

Her friends… his friends? Whoever, those humans had come for her. They were making their way to the palace currently. This said a few things about his situation. First, that the dream he'd had was somewhat accurate, but it didn't really take a genius to figure out that Ichigo would come for her. Second, it marked a limited countdown to his own demise. Not by Ichigo of course, not this time. It was safe to assume that, even though things were playing out somewhat similarly to how he had dreamt them, not everything would. Thus he was taking extra precautions. As soon as things started to heat up, he'd do what he had to in order to ensure her safety back to the human world.

It would be the last thing he did for her before he'd leave this life forever.

Pulling the door open, he stood in the doorway and stared at her momentarily. It was disgusting really, everything about this place. Between the starkness of the room to the horrific white outfit she had to wear, it brought a sickening feeling to his stomach. Once, he may have thought the outfit suited her, but now… now it just angered him.

"Woman," his voice rang out dead.

"Gah!" she turned to him, her silver eyes wide in surprise. "Wh-when did you come in? You scared me." Yes, exactly like the dream. Fate had been cruel to him indeed. All this repetition was beyond gulling. It was like he knew what was going to happen, yet what he wished for was impossible. Dreams never came true, thus what he truly wanted would never come to pass.

"Just this second, don't fuss over everything," he stated monotonously as he entered the room. She turned to him, her gaze clear, unaffected. She'd quickly grown used to him, he was the only being she ever communicated with after all. Still, he wished she hadn't. If she was accustomed to him then that meant she was getting used to living here and he didn't want that.

He wanted her to hate him. If she hated him, then it would be easier for him to let her go in the end because she wouldn't want him around, and he would do whatever she wanted of him…

"I've come bearing news," he started again. "It seems your friends have entered Hueco Mundo." She looked momentarily shocked, about to say something, but the vindictive side of his personality quickly arose. He'd beat fate to the punch; she'd never ask the question. "They have come to save you of course." Her mouth snapped shut and she stared at the floor.

The silence between them hung heavily and he flexed his hands in his pockets.

"Why would they do that?" she muttered and looked back at the window. Her question didn't anger him, he knew why she asked it, but the implications behind the answer, behind her thoughts, did put his temper on edge.

"Why?" he replied shortly and she whipped around to face him again. "You should know the answer to that question." She furrowed her brows at him. "Do you hope they will be successful?" Her mouth dropped open slightly. "Do you think they have a chance? Do you think… that Ichigo Kurosaki will welcome you back with open arms, will _love_ you the way you love him?"

"What is your problem?" she snapped and he narrowed his eyes at her. That was another thing that was different from the dream. She wasn't nearly as afraid of acting out against him. Or perhaps a better assessment would be that she had realized he wouldn't hurt her. She was a fast learner; she had caught on to his fascination with her. "You don't know anything…"

"And neither do you," he issued sharply and turned away from her. He could feel her angry gaze on him, but he didn't care. The more she hated him, the easier it would be… right? If she hated him, didn't want anything to do with him, then he'd have no reason to remain with her.

"What does that mean?" she asked quietly.

"It doesn't matter," he stated in reply, a reply he found himself using more and more often with her. She'd say something to spur the jealousy inside him, he'd get angry, say something like that, she'd ask what it meant, and he'd have to reel himself back in. To think he'd been under the delusion that merely being a hollow gave him more control. It wasn't being a hollow that made a difference, it was the fact that now he had something _to_ control, and it was proving difficult.

"You always say that," she muttered and he turned back to her. Yes, it was also safe to assume that he visited her far more often than what was necessary, what he had originally planned to. It wasn't that he couldn't keep away from her, no, it was his paranoia that walked his feet to her room. All the Espada were capable of getting in here, and if he was there then nothing could happen to her.

"They will not succeed, you will not escape here," he lied. Even if her friends did fail, he'd get her out of this place himself. She would live, even if all her loved ones perished. She was strong enough to keep living, he knew that. At least, the woman he was in love with would be able to go one. But, alas, was she that woman? So far she had proved to be.

"Don't say that," she commanded quietly and turned back to the window, her hands cupped together in front of her.

"Why not?" he asked. "It is the truth. They could not possibly stand a chance against the Espada. They will all perish." He didn't dare go much further than that, to say something along the lines of "and just to save you." He could not hurt her in that manner. She'd picked up on little things like that too. That no matter what mean things he said to her, he was never as cruel as he could be, as he should have been. As he used to be.

"They won't," she said firmly though there was a quiver in her voice that hinted that she believed otherwise. "I wish they hadn't come…" He didn't have a reply for that, so he remained silent, staring at her from the back of the room. She stayed quiet as well, momentarily. She could still feel his eyes at her back though…

She had never been comfortable with what humans characterized as "awkward silences."

"Does Lord Aizen plan to do anything about them?" her voice was small, and his reply was simple. No, of course not, the foolish man was too arrogant to worry about a few humans. Humans that Ulquiorra hoped would be his lord's downfall, so long as Ichigo was truly as powerful as he imagined.

Ichigo… was it a terrible thing that he wouldn't be sad if the orange haired shinigami died? Then he could run away with her and never come back. He almost laughed. Some fantasy that was. As if.

"Lord Aizen sees them as no threat," he replied stoically. "He doubts they will even make it this far." Her shoulders slumped. Despite how she told herself that it was fruitless to hope, he knew she still did. Again, despite there being an opportunity, he could not bring himself to lower her spirits any more. It was hard enough lying to her the way he was.

All he wanted to do was touch her, comfort her…

How ironic.

"What about you?" she turned to him again, her head cocked to the side as she stared curiously at him. "Do you think they can make it this far?" He stared at her, silent as he considered how to answer. She wasn't stupid; she knew a lot of what he relayed to her was straight from Aizen's mouth. Had he been who he was before, he would have agreed blindly to whatever his lord had said. But he wasn't, and she seemed to sense that.

"My thoughts on the subject are meaningless," he finally settled on, his voice a forced kind of control. It was the truth really. Whether they made it or not didn't matter to him. His plan was already set. Yes, it pained him to think that the humans might die, he felt as though he knew them after all, but her wellbeing far outweighed theirs. He couldn't waste his time on them.

"I don't think they are," she replied quietly and he narrowed his green gaze on her. "You don't care do you? Whether they win or not? You have plans of your own… don't you?" How did she do that? It didn't matter how hard he tried to hide from her, she always saw right through him.

"Even if I do," he might as well be honest, "why do you care? It has nothing to do with you Woman." Again, a lie.

"Because you're confused."

"_No need to apologize," she replied quickly. "You were only like that at first. Even in Hueco Mundo you started showing confusion, which was better than nothing. And now, whether you're aware of it or not, you're eyes are flashing with all kinds of stuff." _

Curse her.

"I will be back in an hour with your dinner," he decided abruptly and turned on his heel, leaving the room, his coat billowing out behind him.

**oOo**

"You are finished?" he asked as she set the fork down on the plate, his hands placed firmly in his pockets. The time was drawing nearer and nearer by the second, he would set things in motion soon. Just a few more hours and hopefully things would fall into place. If he initiated everything correctly and if that idiot Kurosaki did was he was supposed to…

"Yes," she replied, her gaze on the half eaten plate before her. Even aside from the fact that she was a prisoner and probably lacking appetite, he couldn't blame her for not wanting to eat what they offered her. It wasn't… anything spectacular to say the least. It was packed with the things she needed to survive, but that was all. The basics.

Nodding to the servant, the low-class hollow bustled into the room, took care of the dishes, and started to leave. And as she did every time she was fed, she thanked the pathetic soul issued to serve under her, as if she would get a response from it. Didn't she get it at all? They were monsters.

Suddenly glancing up at the window, her jaw dropped, her eyes bulging huge as she raced to the window, as if being closer to it would somehow make things that much more discernable. He'd sensed it too, but he said nothing.

"Chad…" she breathed, her hands cupped together under her chin. A few moments of silence passed as she continued to search the area for his reiatsu, as she tried to reassure herself that he wasn't dead. Turning to Ulquiorra, she stared into his green eyes, as if he would have the answer. "He's not dead," she stated firmly.

"I know," he replied nonchalantly as her gaze drifted to the ground. "I can sense what is going on out there just as well as you can. That fool Nnoitra took the liberty of disobeying orders and attacking the invaders. Your friend is lucky to have made it out alive."

"Why are you saying these things?" she asked quietly, tears slipping past her cheeks. He sighed, he couldn't fight her anymore, he had no reason to. Now that Chad had been defeated, he knew where the chips were lying. He didn't need to hide anymore.

"I have no desire to see you upset," he stated monotonously and she blinked in surprise, her silver eyes swimming in confusion. "Your friends have made it quite far, and I believe they will make it farther still, but alas my predictions could be proven wrong. Still, I hold more faith in them than the power of the Espada. You will return home safely." She gaped.

"Wh-what?" she took a step towards him, her hand outstretched, and he turned his gaze to the floor. "What do you mean?" He could hear her light steps approaching him, and he held back a flinch as she grabbed his jacket sleeve. "Answer me, please."

"Knowing the details would only confuse you," he replied as his gaze came up to meet hers. "Take comfort in the simple fact that you will return home, that is a certainty I will ensure." She caught on then, her brows furrowing as her hold on his jacket tightened.

"You'll ensure my going home?" the gears in her head were working furiously. "How can you possibly ensure something like that?" There was an excitement in her eyes, an anticipation, and she was making sure it was safe to place her hopes in him.

"Because, Woman, I am the most powerful Espada, even if my peers do not know it," he sighed. "They stand no chance against me. And Aizen," no longer "Lord" Aizen, "has not a care for what happens anymore, to any of his Espada. He never did. He will not be a threat." She was shaking her head, relief and disbelief etched into her face.

"But… if… if you're going to… to let me escape, then how come you waited this long?" her features dropped suddenly and his lips tightened in displeasure. "If you had let me leave earlier then… then none of my friends would have come here, no one would be hurt…" She released her hold on him, her hands going to her mouth in distress.

His frown deepened.

"I had no choice," he stated, doing his best to keep his hands in his pockets to stop them from encircling her small form. "If I had acted earlier, you would have been recaptured, I would have been destroyed prematurely, and all of this would have been for naught. As of now, as the Hogyoku has awakened early, Aizen no longer has a use for you. He will no longer pursue you."

"But… Chad…" she shook her head. He knew what she was doing. She was blaming herself for all of their hurt and pain. He could see the guilt in her eyes and it angered him. He was angry at them, her friends, for making her feel this way, but he was angry at himself too, for _allowing_ her to feel this way.

"If we move quickly," she glanced up at him and he sighed, giving in against his better judgment, "then I may be able to get more than just you out of here." Her silver orbs widened in shock. Yes, he would do this for her, he would try. Originally he had only wanted to get _her_ out of here, but he loved her too much to refuse her anything. She would be beyond despair if her friends died here while she lived, so he would do his best to alleviate that worry.

"How-"

"Come with me Woman," he commanded and turned. "Time runs as we stand here." Gulping, she rushed after him as he strolled out of the room. Luckily most everyone else was preoccupied, so he could get her out into the open without having to deal with any nuisances. He would get her to a safe place while he chased about retrieving her saviors. How tedious. He had not been anticipating this development, though now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense.

She was lucky he would do absolutely anything and everything for her.

She was too slow though.

Reaching back and grabbing her wrist, she squeaked at first, fighting his grip, but he didn't have time to worry about that. Flashing to the bottom of the tower, he heard her gasp behind him, obviously shocked to have moved so quickly.

Without releasing her, he continued onward and through the door, the fake light reflected in the dome blinding him momentarily. He could only imagine what it was doing to her, having been cooped up in that cell for days on end.

"What are _you_ doing?" whipping his head to the right, the fourths shoulders sank, his frown tightening. Pulling the Woman closer to him, he placed his body between hers and their addressor. "I thought Aizen ordered you to deal with that shinigami, yet here ya are, waltzing around with the prisoner," he grinned sadistically. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say there's some treachery in the air."

"I don't want to fight you Grimmjow," Ulquiorra stated, deadpan. What the hell was he doing here? This wasn't the way things had played out. The only reason he'd ever come for this Woman was when he'd learned that Ichigo Kurosaki had been practically killed by him, Ulquiorra. That hadn't happened yet.

"Jeez, jumping right to the point," Grimmjow crossed his arms over his chest and smiled wider, his body shifting weight to one hip. "Who said I was here to fight you anyway? I was simply askin' a question. But if you think I'm here to fight ya, you must be feelin' guilty 'bout something. Gotta say, I'm pretty surprised that out of all the Espada, you'd be the one to run off with some woman, thought you had more control than that." He laughed. "But a man's a man I guess."

"You do not know what you are talking about so go back to whatever tree you climbed out of and fuck off," he didn't have time to deal with this. Fighting Grimmjow, saving her friends, it couldn't all fit into the allotted time limit. He had to get her out of there before Aizen went to the human world, so he could…

"'Scuse me?" Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't know you had such a fowl mouth on you quarto. How long you been hiding that?" Dammit, couldn't this idiot take a hint? What could he possibly want anyway? He wanted to fight Ichigo didn't he, so why was he waltzing around out here? There wasn't time for this, things were going to pick up swiftly, Grimmjow wasn't supposed to be his problem.

Not only that, but, honestly, he didn't want to fight the sixth. It wasn't just a time issue. It'd be like trying to fight Starrk or Harribel, how was he supposed to do that? Grimmjow wasn't his most favorite person in the world, but…

No, he couldn't get sidetracked by that damn dream. This was reality, right? If this was what was real then Grimmjow wasn't… he was just a hollow, a hollow that could do with being exterminated. Just a hollow.

A hollow.

A hollow.

A **hollow**.

"I do not have time for you," gripping his zanpakuto, the fourth slid it from its sheath as he released the woman behind him. Shoving her backwards, he tried to get the message across that she needed to leave; this would be a dangerous area soon. "You will go down quickly."

"You gonna fight me?" Grimmjow chortled. "'Bout damn time. I been eggin' ya on forever, should have just threatened the woman cuz apparently you're all fired up now." Drawing his own zanpakuto, the blue haired Espada stood with a lazy kind of resolve, as if he had this all in the bag. "I'm stronger than you, you know that right? Numbers don't mean a damn thing."

"Perhaps if your mouth did the fighting," his fourth retorted as the woman backed up against the wall of the tower they'd just come out of, her silver eyes darting back and forth between the two combatants uncertainly.

"Ya know, I come out here lookin' for Kurosaki, but I can't decide which one is better, you or him," he appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Ah well, guess it don't really matter in the end. I'll kill you, then I'll kill him." Ulquiorra wasn't going to reply to any more of the taunts. He had to end this.

Left hand still pocketed, the fourth surged forward, the tip of his blade aimed for the sixths throat as he flashed into motion. With a grin and a snarl, the blue haired Espada raised his own blade in an automatic defense, his feet digging into the sand as he pressed back against Ulquiorra's own force of motion.

Steel screaming, the zanpakuto created a bright flash as they collided, but it didn't deter either of them. Reaching out his open hand, the sixth grabbed his opponent by the sword wrist, hoping to hold him in deadlock. With experienced ease, the fourth raised his right leg, toe pointed, his aim geared towards Grimmjow's chin.

Seeing the movement out of the corner of his eye, the blue haired hollow released his grip on the fourths wrist, his hand reaching down to counter the assault from below. Using that split second of time when he was free, Ulquiorra flashed up, turned, and brought his sword down hard. Twisting his head in the nick of time, Grimmjow saw the blow coming and pulled his sword up above his head to parry.

Steel once again coming to steel, the sand around them scattered into a cloud as the reiatsu aimed at each other flew to the sides, splaying outwards when their blades connected.

Using the force from Grimmjow's zanpakuto, the fourth gave into the burst of energy, allowing it to propel him backwards. Souring towards the clouds, it only took him a second to right himself and bullet back towards his target.

Smiling, the sixth waited, ready for the obvious hit he knew was coming. Zanpakuto pulled back, the fourth aimed and with skilled precision Grimmjow held his own blade up in defense, his left hand thrown forward to grab his opponent.

Flashing out of sight before their blades even met, Ulquiorra threw his body behind the blue haired Espada's, his blade still curving as he sought to slash the sixth open across his spine.

As if that too had been obvious, Grimmjow spun and just before the fourths blade grazed his jacket, grabbed hold of Ulquiorra's wrist.

"You underestimate me," he hissed, the sixths blade coming up to run his opponent through. Not daunted, the green eyed Espada twisted his captured arm around his back, his body turning against the force as his right leg swung up high to strike Grimmjow across the face, the sixths blade just barely hissing innocently beyond the fourths body.

The kick made contact.

Head twisting to the side, blood and spit ejecting from his mouth, Grimmjow's body, led by his impacted cheek, began to lift from the ground, preparing to sour through the air. His grip loosened on Ulquiorra's wrist and with a flashing kind of speed, the fourth reached around with his left hand and harnessed the blue haired mans now empty appendage.

The force of his grasp pulled Grimmjow back against the force that had sent him flying, his body bowing, sword arm flying out carelessly as Ulquiorra pulled him back in. Removing a single finger from the hilt of his sword, he pointed the weapon at Grimmjow's chest. The blade couldn't reach him, but the fourth merely willed the green reiatsu to form a single, deadly blow at the end of his nail.

Flashing, the cero burst across the sands, a gaping, charred, rotting hole left in the sixths chest, right above the one in his abdomen.

That had been too easy.

Coughing, the blue haired Espada was momentarily airborne as Ulquiorra released his wrist. Surging back, his blue eyes fell on the fourth, wide and confused.

"Ulquiorra," he rasped, blood spilling down his cheeks, "Why did you… I thought we were… were… brothers…" Green eyes widening, the fourth felt his breath freeze in his chest, his body become stiff as Grimmjow's limp form fell to the sand with a hollow thud, his blue eyes emptying of life.

_What_?

Standing up straight, the green eyed Espada stared down at the corpse with flared nostrils, those last words slowly processing in his head. For some reason, they weren't connecting. It didn't make any sense, why would Grimmjow say something like that when… when they were both hollows working under Aizen?

It didn't make any sense.

Hadn't they been fighting to the death? What… what was going on?

"Hey," body jolting back into action, Ulquiorra felt the wind on his back intensify. Going to his toes, he forced his body to turn, his sword coming up to parry the black zanpakuto aimed at his skull. "You shouldn't let yourself get so distracted."

Unable to correctly gage the oncoming blow, Ulquiorra was thrown backwards. Luckily he had enough time to right himself and was able to simply slide through the sand as he stared at the man waiting before him.

Ichigo Kurosaki.

"You took care of Grimmjow, huh?" the orange haired shinigami stated as he sighed, his brown eyes focused on the corpse in disgust. It wasn't long however that he was once again focused on Ulquiorra, that same look of repulsion still imbedded in his eyes. "What kind of a person does that? Kills their own comrade? What kind of a _monster_ does that?"

Ulquiorra narrowed his gaze at him.

"Ichigo!" heads whipping to the side, both men watched as the captured woman burst forth from the dust, her orange hair in disarray as she stared at the scene before her with obvious concern and panic.

"Stay back Inoue," Ichigo commanded and she stopped in her approach immediately, her hands cupped below her chin. Raising his sword in Ulquiorra's direction, the shinigami eyed the fourth once again. "I got to take care of this guy first, then I'll take you back. You and everyone else too."

"Wait, Ichigo," she was moving again, her arms reaching towards the shinigami. "He's not trying to hurt anyone, he's trying to help me and everyone escape." White clad arms encircling black, Ulquiorra held back his sudden urge to rip the orange haired man limb from limb as the Woman forcibly attached herself to his free appendage.

"What?" Ichigo spat, his eyes never leaving his target. "What are you talking about Inoue?" He glared at the fourth and the fourth glared back just as fiercely. "He's an Espada, the enemy. He's not trying to save you or anyone else." She looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped when Kurosaki started speaking again. "He was lying to you Inoue; he was probably just using you for some plan of Aizen's. You shouldn't believe him. I'm here now, and I'll protect you."

Her silver eyes darted to Ulquiorra, her mouth dropping open, indecision obvious on her face.

"I'll just get rid of him Inoue, then no one will have to worry about it," the orange haired shinigami delicately removed his arm from her grip. "He's a hollow, a monster, and needs to be destroyed."

"You are deaf," the green eyed Espada replied. "Did you not hear what she just said? I have no desire to fight you; I wish only that she be removed from this place safely." Ichigo narrowed his eyes, not believing a word of it.

"Remove her safely?" he scoffed. "You guys are the ones that kidnapped her. If it weren't for you, no one would need to be saved in the first place. Chad wouldn't be dying, Rukia wouldn't be…" The orange haired shinigami shook the thoughts from his head. "You're just like the rest of them so don't try to lie and convince me, or Inoue, otherwise."

"You are being awfully pigheaded," the fourth stated, his teeth grating together at his barely contained anger. "If you would stop thinking like an imbecile, you would notice the positives in this situation. If I help you, there is no chance you will lose."

"Join us?" he laughed skeptically. "_Join_ us? Who the hell do you think I am? I'm a shinigami and you're a hollow, a monster. Bullshit I'll let you join us. The only reason you're trying to come over to our side is because you know your side is losing. Well I don't team up with deserters." Ulquiorra had never seen a more revolting look cast in his direction. "It just makes you that much more despicable."

The fourth closed his eyes, gulping, willing his hands to unbind from the fists they had formed.

"You do not need to tell me things I already know," he replied quietly. "Your opinion of me matters not in the end. The fact is that I want that Woman to leave here safely, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens."

"Well don't worry yourself about _that_," Ichigo snarled. "I'll save Inoue, I'll rescue all my friends, and together we'll beat Aizen and get out of here." Lashes flickering open, Ulquiorra narrowed his gaze at the shinigami.

"What?" his voice was barely audible. "You plan to confront Aizen? Are you completely insane?" This was not how things were supposed to go. Dammit! Why had he put so much faith in that dream? He was being confronted with problems he didn't know how to deal with. "You are not strong enough to face him." Ichigo wasn't right? Not yet… He didn't know anymore... "If you and your friends search him out, you will be destroyed."

"For being a deserter you hold an awful lot of faith in your leader's abilities," the orange haired idiot stated. "If he's so unstoppable then why are you leaving him? Why do you want to save Inoue? What's the point?" He lowered his black blade to his side, his stature still cocky and arrogant. "The way I see it, if you're abandoning your people, you don't think they can win, which means you're not as powerful as you all say you are. In which case, I'm going to end this all here and now."

"Fool!" the green eyed Espada hissed. "My loyalties lie only with that Woman. Whether you win or lose is of no consequence to me. Should Aizen win, he'll destroy me. Should _you_ all win, you're people will destroy me. My fate is already sealed."

"You're right, it is," Ichigo frowned, seeming less than enthused, "because I'm going to kill you right now."

"You can try," the sixth stated, his anger fueling him into action, "but I will not let your deranged notions of valor place that Woman in danger. If you go to Aizen with her and all your friends, you will be destroyed. I cannot allow that." His hand tightened on the hilt of his zanpakuto. "If the only means of stopping you is to destroy you then so be it, but that Woman will return to her world safely. You endanger her existence, so I must eliminate you."

He didn't have a choice. Ichigo was being an idiot. So things weren't going to fall into place as he had hoped. It was a foolish hope anyway. A dream of a future he had depended on. But who was he to see the future? He was no one. All he had left to live for was _her_ life, and even if he had to destroy her friends to allow her safety, he would. She would hate him, but he would be gone in the end anyway. She may never thank him for what he did, but she would live and that was all that mattered.

She was the only thing he had left, and she wasn't even his.

"Stop, please!" her voice rang out across the sand desperately, but neither man heard her.

Time was running out.

**oOo**

"It's been four days and still nothing," the blonde man stared down at the ground thoughtfully, his hand reaching up to itch the back of his neck. "I almost have to wonder if he'll even get there at this point." Unsure glances were thrown around the clearing; none of them had the answers.

No one had ever entered into hollowfication without… without knowing that they were doing it.

"What do you mean?" her voice was weak, strained, and she coughed lightly as she stared tiredly up at the ex-captain. He cast her an uneasy look, not sure if he wanted to answer her or not. He didn't want to stress her, not in her condition, not until she was strong enough to heal herself. But not knowing would probably be just as stressful.

"His soul chain was severed, but the trauma of the separation caused him to remain unconscious. Urahara was able to bring him around through the door he created for Karin and the other Espada, to turn him into a shinigami via a portal into Soul Society, but he didn't wake up before _it_ attacked," he shook his head. "We know it attacked because of the shifts in his reiatsu, he's inside his own head, but… he doesn't know that." Her silver gaze darted to the ground, fear obviously laid therein. "If he doesn't figure it out soon…"

"He might not wake up…" she whispered.

"That," the blonde man nodded, "or worse. If he doesn't know his hollow is manipulating him, then how can he fight it?" He saw her gulp, her hands shaking as she cupped them below her chin. "He'll be devoured, and he won't even know it's happening."

"Shinji," the vizard turned to the blonde woman addressing him. She had her arms crossed under her breasts, a disapproving look on her face. "Are you trying to kill her?" It was obvious by the frazzled look in her green eyes, by her lack of sleep, that she was beyond stressed about this whole situation as well.

"I'm just being honest Tia," he replied quietly, his gaze returning to the barrier guiltily.

"I'm fine, really," she assured and everyone around them stared at her uneasily. And she meant _everyone_. It appeared that every single spiritually blessed being inhabiting Karakura had crowded into the underground training center to wait. That, and to fuss over her. "You guys worry too much."

Four days…

Four days since she had fallen to the ground, confused and bloodied, unsure of what was happening. The next thing she'd known, she'd been waking up, blinking into Rangiku's blue eyes as the woman attempted to heal her with kiduo. A somewhat failed attempt, the healing powers of the shinigami were somewhat limited and took time. But her own reiatsu had been drained; she couldn't heal her own wounds without killing herself in turn. Instead she'd been lifted to Urahara's where it had been somewhat resolved what had transpired.

Apparently she and Ulquiorra had been attacked. By who they couldn't say exactly, but it was assumed that, based on the poor placement of her own wound, that being it didn't puncture any immediately life threatening organs, that she had merely been in the way, caught in the crossfire. Whoever had attacked them had been after Ulquiorra.

This of course led to many conclusions. The most logical of these however, the one most had come to believe, was that their hollow enemies had been behind it. His soul chain had purposefully been severed. Whoever had committed the assault wanted his hollowfication to take place, probably because they had somehow determined that there was a high chance he would fail. One less enemy to have to deal with.

Well they had succeeded.

It seemed trivial perhaps, in the greater scheme of things, but the bottom line was that Ulquiorra probably would have faced his hollow sooner or later, so why not make it sooner and hope he ended up dead? Even if he succeeded, it wouldn't matter in the end, but if he died it was one less worry for them.

These hollow were just wasting the time they had until everything hit the fan, until they were ready with their own army.

They were toying with their ex-comrades.

"Worry too much?" Tatsuki crossed her arms, her eyebrows raised as she stared at her best friend from where they sat on a large, flat rock. Orihime's entire chest and abdomen were wrapped in tight bandages, some more for modesty than actual usefulness. "You got _stabbed_!"

"I know..." she muttered sheepishly, "but I'm not dying..."

"You could be!" the dark haired girl exclaimed.

"Stop yelling," Shinji drawled in irritation as he rubbed his temples. He hadn't been up the whole four days straight, but he still lacked sleep. He didn't want to listen to their bickering, and Orihime was too weak to put up much of a fight anyway.

So the group fell silent once again. That is, until Hiyori turned to Ichigo, her normally grumpy demeanor towards him overcast by thoughtfulness.

"You said that this guy was the most powerful Espada, right? That he reached some kind of a second release?" The orange haired teenager nodded, his eyes suspicious. It wasn't everyday that the little blonde woman addressed him civilly. And he was not rewarded with any more of the hospitality for as soon as her question was out, she had turned away from him again.

Ichigo growled.

"Yes Hiyori, this could be dangerous," Shinji stated and she huffed, her shoulders slumping as she stared grumpily at the inactive barrier between her and the pillars impaling the unconscious body inside.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked irritably. Shinji wasn't the only one lacking sleep it seemed. "Of course hollowfication is dangerous, so why does it make a difference whether he reached some second release or not?"

"Because we discovered some imperative information during _our_ hollowfications," Harribel answered, Ichigo's grumpy face immediately becoming civil as his mother addressed him. Like a puppy, he drank in and savored every word she said. "When you went through hollowfication Ichigo, your hollow was not matured. It was newly born. It hadn't discovered its abilities or powers yet. It was learning with you. Our hollows are not the same. Granted, some, like Grimmjow's and Nel's, were immaturely reacting and did nothing but growl, scream, and attack, like yours did." She nodded to her son. "But some of our others were more…"

"Intelligent," Shinji finished for her. "They were monsters, yes, killing machines, but they executed their offensives with a little more strategy, taking advantage of the abilities they already knew how to use." The blonde man sighed. "So that means, because Ulquiorra's hollow already knows how to reach a second release, that makes him that much more dangerous."

"Maybe we should just get rid of 'im entirely," Hiyori stated aloud, never afraid to voice her opinion no matter how it alarmed others around her. "Dealing with some of those other five was bad enough; I don't want to think about trying to keep one _that_ powerful under control."

"It'll be alright," Shinji countered. "If he gets too powerful for us vizards, we can always send his family in there to deal with him. They're more powerful than we are. And there's Ichigo too if it becomes necessary to…"

Eyes snapping to the body in the barrier, they all watched with bated breath as the pillars began to shake.

"Well it's too late now anyway," Hiyori grumbled as she stood from her spot seated on the ground.

"Does this mean he's found his hollow?" Orihime asked anxiously as she went to stand. Tatsuki held her back however, gently forcing her to stay put.

"Normally, yes," Shinji clarified as he pulled his zanpakuto out of the sheath. "It means the hollow has made an appearance. But if he doesn't know he's supposed to be confronting it, then it could simply mean he's drawing on its power in some made up world he's created around himself."

"Which means that if he doesn't gain control in time…" Toshiro narrowed his eyes as he voiced his thoughts. He was catching onto this whole process pretty quickly, and the more he was around it, the less he liked it.

"We'll have to kill him… if we can," Hiyori scoffed.

"I'll do it if I have to," Ichigo stated firmly, his fists clenched in resolve despite how he despised having to perform such an act. Grimmjow turned his head to the orange haired shinigami, his eyes narrowed as a scowl enveloped his lips.

"Please Kurosaki," he cracked his knuckles, the popping digits echoing around the clearing before he reached down to unsheathe his own zanpakuto. "If anyone's going to kill his ass, it'll be me." Ichigo stared at the blue haired Espada for a moment before nodding in understanding. Grimmjow could try first, and if he failed, the orange haired shinigami would take over.

Orihime gulped as she sat back down on the rock, her arms wrapping around her middle as she watched, wide-eyed, at the scene folding out before her. To say she was upset would be an understatement. But what could she do? Nothing, that was what. She was useless and Ulquiorra could end up… dead… because of all this.

It wasn't fair…

"Who's first?" Shinji asked. "And I want only vizards right now. You Espada can wait and see if we actually need you. Best to save your strength until we know what we're dealing with." Ichigo looked back and forth quickly, realizing for the first time that he was included in this new generation of Espada.

How ironic.

"I'll go," Kensei sighed as he approached the barrier. No one seemed to have a disagreement and as the pillars collapsed and disappeared, a dust cloud billowing up inside the barrier, everyone watched intently.

Nothing.

Not a sound emerged from the powdered air. No hissing, not a hum of displeasure or anger. Kensei froze just before the orange wall, his eyes narrowed as he waited, his silver hair standing on end. This had never happened before. Hollow were generally very vocal when emerging, it was a painful process.

"Where is it?" Hiyori asked irritably.

"It's in there," Shinji assured as the air inside the barrier started to dissipate.

"I'm going in," Kensei stated seriously as the outline of a single standing form started to emerge out of the dust. "Open the barrier Hachi." Nodding, the big man did as commanded, a single door sized section of the wall sliding up. Entering quickly, it closed behind the ex-captain.

Dead silence.

As if in slow motion, the dirt finally settled back down, the kimono clad body inside standing completely still. It didn't breathe, it didn't move, it didn't make a sound. There was a long zanpakuto in its hands, a light silver sword with a pale green hilt. It hung loosely in his pale grip. Nothing about its form was tense.

And enveloping its face was a complete mask. Not just some forming, oozing hollowfication like Ichigo's and Grimmjow's had been. No, this thing was solid. Reminiscent of both Ulquiorra's original broken helmet and his first release, the white appendage covered his entire head. And in front of the face was a single layer of flat mask that came to a point at his chin. Running down either side of the white sheet were green streaks. Tear marks with no eyes to leak from.

No one dared say anything, as if their voices would somehow spur the thing before them into action. Some even held their breaths, waiting in wary anticipation for something to happen. But alas only the dust settled, the thin layer of it slowly floating to the ground, the haze within the barrier like some kind of curtain opening, a grand entrance.

"I don't like this Shinji," Hiyori finally whispered. "This isn't normal." The blonde man could only purse his lips in reply, his brown eyes never leaving the creature standing before them. Slowly though, his face pulled into a grimace. He had no idea what to expect, and it was fraying at his nerves.

"Be careful Kensei," he stated loudly, but the silver haired man didn't turn to face him. "This one can _think_." And as if to prove that point, all their hearts thrust into their throats as a single sandaled foot lifted off the ground and took a single step forward.

Drawing his short Zanpakuto, Kensei immediately placed his body in a defensive position.

A few dust particles floated into the air as that single foot touched down. It wasn't a huge move, it didn't do any damage, it hardly stirred the dirt, but it was a threat. And threats needed to be handled with the utmost precautions. Whoever, whatever, this hollow was, it wasn't the least bit afraid of them. It wasn't even angered by them. It thought them all nuisances, flies to be easily swatted out of the way.

Trash.

"It's coming…" Shinji hissed as it took another step forward, its movements quickly becoming less disjointed as it picked up its pace. As if it merely needed time to rev itself into motion, its legs stretched into a quick walk as it paced towards Kensei. It didn't raise its sword, it didn't even change its posture, there was nothing the least bit menacing about.

Aside from the hold its despairing reiatsu had on all their hearts. With each step it took, that feeling grew stronger; it strangled their entire being, their entire group, like some suffocating cloud. It was like some horror movie where the victim knew something was coming, but couldn't see it. They sat, waiting for the inevitable. The only difference was that they _could_ see the threat, but it didn't matter. They were still just as terrified.

"_**Kensei**_!" Shinji bellowed. "_**Get out of there! You can't beat that!**_" The silver haired man didn't need to be told twice. Stumbling up to the barrier wall, he backed out as quickly as possible as Hachi opened the gate. Slamming it shut again, it didn't seem to matter that no one was inside with it anymore. It had a target; everyone else was just in the way.

And as Kensei tumbled back out into the dirt, the sight of his shaking, sweating form seemed to jolt everyone into action.

"Open it up Hachi, I'm going in," Harribel demanded as she slipped her hollowed blade from its carrier on her back. "Someone needs to fight it or it's going to destroy the barrier. We need to distract it."

"But Miss-"

"_Now_ Hachi!" her voice was level, her breathing controlled as she approached the orange wall. Without another objection, he sliced open the transparent sheet and she slipped in, her escape route closing behind her.

Even as she approached it though, it didn't seem to care that she was there. It was still walked pointedly forward, its sightless face intent on only one thing. Well whatever that one thing was, she was bound and determined to stop it from reaching it.

Jumping forward, the third Espada didn't waste time testing out the things strength. She knew what to expect. She called on her bankai, her mask, and her hollow form as she surged towards the monster, her bone skirt whipping around her legs as she brought her huge blade down on the things helmet from above.

Without a second thought, without even turning up to look at her, the monster raised its blade above its head and blocked the assault. It had stopped walking however, apparently deeming Harribel threat enough to pay some kind of mind to her.

Again, just a pest he needed to do away with.

Isshin clenched his fists tightly as he watched the exchange, his nostrils flaring, his teeth running together. Obviously he saw the necessity for her to be in there, but he was still left wishing she hadn't. Why was their world always full of danger, of the threat of death?

Pressing its silver blade upwards, the monster threw the third back, a mere flick of his wrist sending her back into the air. But she landed skillfully on her feet behind it, her body set firmly on the ground as it slowly turned to face her. Raising a single finger, it pointed directly at her.

"Cero!" Ichigo hissed as the green light pierced through the air, the void it created stunting all sound in the area as it surged across the barrier. Raising her blade against the onslaught, the blonde woman dug her toes into the dirt as she was violently sent skidding across the area. Eventually she ended up back to back with the orange wall, her teeth gritted as she forced her blade to take the blow.

Dropping its hand, the monster ended the cero and it evaporated into nothing. Harribel stood on the other side of the enclosure, her breathing heavy, sweat on her brow, but none of that mattered. Turning back around, the hollow went back to its original path, original objective, apparently deeming Harribel not worth the effort.

"Dammit!" the blonde woman swore as she forced her feet to move forward. "Hey!" she screamed as she surged ahead. "I'm not done with you!" Without even turning, the monster snaked its hand around its middle, its finger pointed as it set off another cero in her direction. Eyes widening, she dodged the attack and continued forward.

Flashing up behind him, she called water to her blade, sharpening the liquid as she slashed her weapon down and through the beast's sword arm. With a sickening crack the appendage flew to the side, the sword that had once been clutched in its fingers flying through the air before landing carelessly across the way.

The creature didn't even flinch.

And with a disgusting pop, the liquid that oozed from its wound started to bubble and boil, the skin around it steaming as something was forcibly pushed from its depths. Blood splattering the air, a clawed form surged into the open. Coated in a thick layer of black fur, the monster flexed its new limb before lowering it to its side.

"Instant regeneration," Shinji muttered.

"Everything except his vital organs," Ichigo stated and the blonde man nodded. That could end up being important information.

Jumping back, the third watched intently, hoping the creature would be deterred by having to go fetch its sword. But to her irritation it didn't even look in the direction of the zanpakuto, it didn't even seem to care that it was missing. Instead it started its trek forward once again, its body finally coming up on the barrier.

"What's he doing?" Grimmjow asked, his grip on his sword tightening. Raising its clawed hand to the orange wall, it laid its palm against it gingerly, testing its strength. Behind him Harribel was approaching again, her blade once again coated in a thin, sharp sheet of liquid.

"He's trying to figure out how to break out," Shinji muttered angrily. "Why? None of the other ones ever tried that. Why isn't this one focused entirely on killing whatever is attacking it? It doesn't even seem to care!"

"Because," Urahara tapped his cane on the ground, his eyes narrowed underneath his hat, "it wants to eliminate the threat of its human form. What made his emotions stir in the first place? Who could possibly keep reviving the human side of him?" Starrk, overhearing the conversation, turned back, his face hard as he stared at the women sitting on the rock behind him.

"Get Orihime Inoue out of here," he commanded quickly.

"What?" Tatsuki gripped her best friend's wrist harder. "Why does she-"

"Just do it!" the primera hissed. "If she's not out of here and that thing-"

"_**Shit**_!" Ichigo surged forward, his zanpakuto jingling at his side as he watched with wide eyes at the monster brought his hands together, Harribel's blade raised above its head. "Get out of there _now_!" He felt his face pale, his heartbeat skyrocket as his mother failed to hear his words. "That thing is going to blow the barrier to pieces!"

Stretching his hands wide, a glowing green spear materialized in the things grasp. Gripping it in its clawed fist, it turned abruptly, the javelin pulled back as it readied itself to throw it. Eyes popping open, the third Espada just barely caught the movement as the lance was released. Dodging just a few inches to the left, it was all she had time to do, the weapon swished past her face.

"Lower the barrier Hachi!" Shinji commanded, but the large man had already acted. The orange walls disappeared and the green spear shot into the air, rushing towards the roof of the training area, as far away from them as possible. As if watching in slow motion, those few, Ichigo, Uryu, Orihime, that knew what was going to happen next, went to voice their thoughts, to scream at everyone to take cover, there wasn't enough distance between them and the explosion, but no words were fast enough to beat the detonation of that terrible volatile.

Like some kind of bomb, they all stared as the spear made contact with the fake sky, the spirit energy within it released as it unfolded into a wave that would have encompassed a good two thirds of Urahara's training area, engulfing everyone inside it like some vengeful fire, an uncontrollable plague spreading at high speeds, except…

Sitting forward, Orihime barely had enough time to think as the thought flashed through her head. She didn't have a lot of reiatsu right now, using what she did have would weaken her considerably, maybe even to the point of death. But everyone… they were going to be destroyed. She had to do something to stop this terrible assail.

Reaching out, she watched as five thin strips of her own reiatsu flew from her fingertips.

"I reject."

It barreled towards them, a cloud of death; they were all going to be suffocated within it. The space they inhabited was too small, there was no escape, this entire area of Karakura would go up in green flames. Death was on the horizon.

Blowing upwards, the explosion, like some kind of deranged fire pit, was suddenly fighting upwards, looking for a release as the air around it closed in. But it found none. The orange bubble forming around it encased it entirely, forcing it to double in on itself, to destroy itself.

Shattering around the force, the orange barrier burst like glass, shooting through the air like deadly projectiles. The force within it fanned out afterwards, green flying forward in rays. No longer an explosion, but still dangerous. It smashed through rock, scattered debris everywhere. Covering their heads, everyone inside the training area waited for the bits of dirt and destruction split and soared in every direction, green and orange mixed together in a deadly dance as the two reiatsu's started to dissipate into nothing.

A lot of damage was done, but not nearly as much as what it could have been.

Coughing, the shinigami, the humans, and everyone else caught somewhere in-between rose their heads up once again, blinking their eyes as dust and dirt floated around them in a cloud. Somewhere beyond them, in the sky, was a gaping black hole, and almost every rock in the area had been beheaded and shattered into little bits and pieces that still showered down on the rooms inhabitants.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki's voice rang out above the hacking and those that were somewhat close to the two watched as the orange haired girl pitched forward, her eyes exhausted as she failed to keep herself upright. Reaching out, the black haired woman went to catch her best friend, but as her hand ripped at the bandages around Orihime's back, she felt a cold hand slap against her cheek.

"_**Tatsuki**_!" Grimmjow was yelling to her. But it was the only thing she was able to make out as her head snapped to the side, a soundless void forming around her ears as her brain smacked against the back of her skull. With a sickening snap, her neck separated from her spin. She supposed there was probably a crack, but she didn't hear it. For a few more moments, thoughts entered her head. The first being that she felt like she was flying. The second finding it somewhat disgusting that only her skin and muscle was holding her head on her shoulders.

Then there was nothing.

Her breath was cut short as her throat was suddenly constricted, her orange hair flapping in front of her face. She tried to cough, but she couldn't breathe. There was something wrapped around her neck, suffocating her. Turning her head, she saw a single white arm clad in a black kimono raising her off the ground, an empty mask, an empty _face_, staring at her emotionlessly.

And next to her face, right in front of her eye, was a long black nail followed by a furred arm, a little bit of green energy forming it its tip.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Oh noes! (didn't I say that last chapter at the end too?)

Well that was fun wasn't it? Too bad for Orihime her boyfriend is going to kill her, talk about an abusive relationship, jeez.

So how many of you were super confused at the beginning? "Whut? None of the ENTIRE story actually happened? Blasphemy!" Naw, I wouldn't do that. It's just Ulquiorra wanderin' around in his head.

Orihime didn't die! Wooooo!

Uh… but she might now… I mean… who knows?

And what about Tatsuki? Ulquiorra smacked her out of the way pretty violently. What a jerk, right?

Anyway, hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter! It's going to be EPIC! I'm looking forward to it. Orihime was actually useful this chapter, hmmm, I wonder what _else_ she can do…

Love!

Toodles!

See that little button over there, the one with the word "review?" Yeah, press that please :D

Hey, I now have the longest Ulquiorra/Orihime fic on the site... I think this is good? Or it just means I have no life...


	22. Prove to Me You're Real

**The Definition of Love**

_"Each time I **say **something **I regret** I **cry **'I don't want to **lose **you._'  
_ But somehow I **know **that you will **never leave me**, yeah._

_ 'Cause you were **made **for **me**_  
_ Somehow I'll **make **you **see**_  
**_ How happy you make me_**

_ I can't **live **this **life**_  
_ Without you **by **my **side**_  
_ I need you to **survive**"_

_**Forgive Me - Evanescence **  
_

**Chapter 22: Prove to Me You're Real**

She couldn't struggle; she didn't have the energy to do so. Her limp body was useless as he lifted her into the air, his hand continuing to tighten around her throat. Like some kind of rag-doll, all she could do was hang there and wait for him to blast her head off her body. She didn't blame him; she knew that this beast, this monster, wasn't Ulquiorra.

She was going to die...

Abruptly, its hold on her loosened, its head tilting to the left slightly as if it were listening to something. The monsters reaction was too slow though. Eyes widening, Orihime gasped as the hand around her throat dropped away, a thin red forcefield zipping in front of her face, all sound momentarily vacuumed into a void as her body collapsed on the ground. Next to her fell two limbs, one white with black nails, the other clawed and covered in black fur.

Breathing deeply, her hair draping around her face, she forced her red and swollen neck upwards, her ability to hear returning now that the very controlled and limited cero had passed by. A hissing, spitting noise greeted her, and as the monster some yards in front of her grew back its harried limbs, the creature making the noise stepped into her line of sight.

Skin as white as alabaster, a gaping hole was black against his chest, dark tattoo's pouring upwards to his masked face. Like some kind of hell demon, the horns protruding forward from his skull smoked from his previous cero attack. His outfit had turned from black to white, his thin black zanpakuto gripped tightly in his clawed hands.

The mask covered his entire face, two onyx strips running down his scowled, skull like visage. Thin, yellow eyes glared forward as long orange locks fanned out around his body.

"Ichigo," she choked as the white being stepped towards its waiting opponent, his clawed toes digging into the dirt as the blood red fur anklets blew around his feet. The monster in the empty mask was focused completely on the orange haired man growling at it, knowing full well that this was not an opponent he could afford to ignore. Their past was evidence enough of that.

"I thought I told you I'd take care of him Ichigo." Jumping into the scene now was a long, blue haired figure, his clawed feet and hands colored black as he started to toe towards the monster from the right of Orihime's vision. He was scowling deeply, his catlike eyes drifting back and forth between his stoic opponent and the rock Tatsuki's body had been thrown into. His blue ears flicked, listening for a sign that she was alive, and his tail twitched anxiously, his tight white suit interrupted only by a gaping hole in his abdomen.

Face drifting from Ichigo to Grimmjow, the hollow was obviously considering his options as these two very powerful threats approached him.

"We'll both take him," Ichigo growled. "He's using abilities from his second release, and since his power is stemming from a human transformation, he's more powerful then both of us right now because we're only in a first release, so long as what Urahara explained was true."

"Fine," Grimmjow's hissing voice snapped through the air. The two fell silent as they continued to walk up on the beast. But their pace was halted, their guards up as the monster hunched forward, his chest heaving as his head bowed down towards the ground.

Ripping flesh could be heard tearing and splitting, the monster tripping forward a step as two large appendages surged from its back, blood spewing into the air as the black towers surged towards the fake sky. Like raindrops, the scarlet liquid splattered to the ground and speckled the three individuals before the trembling beast. Muscles creaking from lack of use, the two new limbs unfolded, stretching and pulling, the tips of the pointed wings intent on piercing the clouds.

Flapping the bat like limbs, the monster composed itself as it lifted its body from the ground, staring down at them from its sightless face as the top of its black kimono floated to the ground, shredded. A burning hole, dripping with black blood, was imbedded in its chest.

"It's too late now!" Shinji yelled to the group. "Fight to kill! Destroy it! It's too dangerous!" Casting each other one last glance, the two now hollowfied rivals surged upwards, intent on ending this quickly before the uncontrollable hollow was able to escape and wreak havoc on more than just the underground training area.

Raising his sword, Ichigo went to bring it down, to cut the monster right down through its mask. But as he did, it vanished. Swearing to himself, he turned abruptly, he'd actually lost sight of it. He'd figured that, because this hollow was evolving from a human at its base, it would be ten times more powerful, but if he couldn't even see it...

Gasping, the orange haired shinigami felt a hand grapple at his skull, a clawed limb forcing him downwards. Glancing up through his horned mask, he caught site of the empty, tear streaked facade looking down at him, blue hair dragging out behind the monster's other hand. And as Ichigo was thrown to the ground, he watched as Grimmjow's lithe form was tossed across the training area at the same time, blue hair billowing out behind him as he smashed into a rock, the landform exploding on impact.

Body falling at uncontrollable speeds, only one thing registered in the orange haired teenagers mind, only one thing had the _time_ to before he was impaled in the dirt. He was no longer the strongest being in the world because this out of control monster was going to kick his ass if he didn't find another way to beat it, fast.

She didn't know what to do. She never knew what to do. Every time something happened, she always proved to be utterly and completely useless. When they'd rescued Rukia from Soul Society, she'd done nothing. She'd then been kidnapped and rescued, and witnessed more than enough battles, yet still _done__nothing_. The entire town of Karakura had been attacked by hollows, and she'd still just stood and watched. And now she was sitting in the dirt, covered in her own blood as her stab wound gushed the sticky red liquid. She couldn't move, her body was too weak to allow her that luxury. Thus, like many times before, she'd been rescued by Ichigo, helpless and dependent on him, and was watching the battle unfold above her head.

Holding her hand to the wound in her stomach, she watched with blurred vision as Ichigo's body was thrown to the ground, as Grimmjow was tossed to the side as though her were nothing more than a piece of trash. The Espada, Harribel, Nel, Starrk, Lilynette, they all surged forward, ready to take on the monster that had so easily put away the most powerful being in the world.

How could they stand a chance against him if even Ichigo didn't?

Was this the end for all of them?

Tears streaked down her cheeks, mixing with the dirt and dust scattered across her face to form a nasty kind of mud. None of this was fair. He hadn't been ready to deal with this, not even close. How was he supposed to get through this if he didn't even know it was happening? He couldn't! He'd only needed more time...

Using its wings as weapons, the monster cast aside any who approached it, blocked any attack aimed at it, survived all their attempts to destroy it. Nothing was working, and she was sitting in the dirt bleeding her guts out. Grimmjow could be dead, Ichigo could be dead, Tatsuki... probably _was_ dead. All the other shinigami, all the vizards, humans, they were going forward now, and they were all going to die too.

Why did she feel like this was all her fault?

Why didn't Ichigo just let it kill her? Instead he'd protected her and had suffered the consequences. Everyone was _always_ protecting her. Even now, as they flashed into the fray, she felt as though they were trying to somehow deter the beast from _her_. It was _always_ her.

She hated being so helpless, so useless. Why couldn't she get powerful enough to protect herself? Why was she the only one that couldn't fight? Was it because she didn't like to fight? Was she in her own way? That seemed like a logical explanation. Yet all she wanted to do was protect her friends. They never seemed like they needed that though, and now that they did, now that she had a motive to help them, she was too powerless to do so.

Who was supposed to protect Ichigo if he was too weak to protect everyone else?

And who was supposed to protect Ulquiorra when he didn't even know it was his own monster doing all the damage?

Ulquiorra… all he was trying to do was live a life without any of this. He didn't want power, violence, he didn't want anything to do with it. Yet time and time again he was unwittingly dragged into it, as if it trailed him wherever he went. He loathed it, she knew he did. She could see it in his eyes when he thought about it, about his hollow, about his past. All of it disgusted him. So why… why did he have to suffer through this? Everyone else want to be stronger except him, so why was so much power forced upon him?

Maybe there was a reason for that. Why power came to those who detested the very notion of it.

Maybe that was why she couldn't get any stronger, because she wanted to be so badly.

A sob wracked her body and she coughed up blood, her fingers coated in the substance as it continued to leak from her body, a small stain forming in the dirt as the red liquid sank into the dry, dehydrated earth. And like some wave another cough burst from her, blood spewing from between her lips as she started to choke on her own life force. It dribbled down her chin.

She coughed.

She sobbed.

It was all she was good for, right? Being helpless, a burden on everyone else…

She didn't want to be, not anymore. She'd tried to become stronger, she'd tried to train with Rukia before the winter war, but it had done nothing for her. Her spirit didn't have the will to fight even if her mind screamed at her desperately to do so. There was something missing inside her, the incarnate ability to create violence. She didn't have it.

Ichigo had it, and he was just barely getting up from the dirt, his sword supporting him as he stared up at the battle above him, one of his horns smashed to bits as his bedraggled white kimono hung around him in layers.

Grimmjow had it, and he was some ways off, hacking up dust as he tripped out of the rubble of the rock his body had destroyed, his blue hair hanging around his bloodied face as he tried to collect his bearings.

Tatsuki had it. Tatsuki wasn't moving.

Ulquiorra had it, but he loathed it.

What did she have? All she wanted to do was protect them. She wanted to save Ulquiorra from himself, she wanted to end this. But how could she do that if she couldn't even stand up.

They were all going to die.

Her friends.

The only family she had.

The man she'd fallen in love with.

Why… why couldn't she protect them…

She wanted to so badly it _hurt_.

She had to do something…

_Anything_…

He coughed and stumbled forward, his thin black zanpakuto digging into the ground. Gulping, he felt the dust and dirt flow down his throat, sandpaper against his insides. And as his long orange hair draped over his shoulders, as he pitched forward again, he glanced up, his yellow eyes watching the battle he had to join once again.

He could see that damned bat above him, swatting at everyone like they were flies. It was bleeding now though, someone had gotten through. If they could then he could too. He had to end this.

Throwing his body back up straight, he pulled his thin blade from the dirt, catching his balance as he readied his taloned feet to propel him back into the fray. Perhaps it wouldn't see him coming.

He was just about to jump, to throw himself into the air, when suddenly his eyes were overcast by a blinding sheet of white light.

**oOo**

"Please, stop!" her voice rang out as she watched the battle from below, but neither combatant heard it. To focus on something other than the battle they commenced in could be deadly.

Flapping his wings, Ulquiorra considered his options since things were not going at all how he had planned. Ichigo was much, _much_ stronger than he had anticipated. He was already in his second release form, and the stupid shinigami was still in a somewhat livable condition donning only his thin mask.

There was something about that fact that didn't make any sense.

The fourth knew he was stronger than this boy; there was no way a human wearing only a mask could be on the same power level as was in a second release. That was just unreal. Yet there he stood, feet on air, sword pulled out in front of him with an air of confidence that rubbed the green eyed Espada the wrong way. He hadn't even become that monster hollow yet, this was completely wrong.

He was so confused…

"Ready to give up yet?" the orange haired shinigami taunted, his voice distorted behind the white face of his hollow. "It doesn't matter how many release forms you get to, you'll never be stronger than I am. Just accept it." Ulquiorra pursed his lips. "Don't you get it? You're too weak to surpass me. Not in strength, but mind. You always will be.

"What you have done so far is proof enough of that," Ichigo's voice turned suddenly serious, deadpan. "You are a monster. You were made a monster, and you will die a monster. You destroyed your own comrade without a second thought, and now you are fighting me, someone very important to the woman you are trying to save. How is there anything righteous about that?

"It does not make any sense," the orange haired teenager sheathed his sword and shoved his hands into the pockets of his kimono, his mask deteriorating. "I know why you are doing this, why you _think_ you are doing this. You are in love with that Woman."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened. How…?

"You will do anything for her, correct? You want to get her safely out of this place, and you will do so at any cost. You do not want to be a monster, so you are trying to redeem yourself by saving her," brown eyes dropping, the shinigami sighed. "You have been so deluded by your emotions that you fail to see the truth. Saving that Woman does not make you less of a monster, it makes you more of one."

The fourth narrowed his gaze, what did that mean?

"Your love for her has made you more of a monster than you ever were before," he continued, his head cocking to the side thoughtfully. "At least when you were a hollow, you did not kill for a purpose; you simply did as you were ordered. At least that was… innocent. But now… now you have killed one man simply because he got in the way of saving the Woman you claim to love. And now you are trying to kill me, the man _she_ loves, because I pose a threat to her safety." He paused. "You would destroy the entire world if it threatened her… wouldn't you?

"How do you live with yourself, knowing you destroyed people for only one Woman? How does your conscience handle that, all the innocent souls you are willing to take down, all the significant others you are willing to destroy, all the families you would rip apart, just to make sure she was safe?

"And not only that, but what about _her_ heart?" the orange haired shinigami took a step forward. "Human hearts are weak, vulnerable. Destroying her friends, the man she loves, do you not think that will destroy her in turn? You are running around in endless circles that you cannot escape. You try to protect her, and end up killing her. Your very existence is killing her."

Gulping, the fourth stared at the ground. Was that… was that true?

"The only way she has a chance at being happy is without you," another step towards him. "You have done nothing but disrupt her life since you met her. You kidnapped her, you manipulated her, you tortured her, and now you are trying to save her, but are destroying her heart while you do.

"You are a monster. You will always be a monster. Nothing you do will ever benefit her because your life is a never ending cycle of death and destruction. You cannot escape it, it is never ending. The only way that Woman will walk away from here unscathed is if you eliminate yourself from her life."

Yes, he knew that. He'd known that since the day he'd met her again in the human world. He wasn't good enough for her, his hands were too stained in blood to hold her, too submerged in it to be of any good to her. Nothing he did would erase that. And his presence was more than a hindrance to her life.

"Give up," Ichigo continued, his voice a whisper in the fourths ear, his hand stroking the green eyed Espada's cheek gently. "Let me destroy you and you will never be of any harm to that woman again. She will walk away free, unharmed, with her friends and heart still intact. If you truly love her, you will let her go." Yes, he was right. He was no good for her, she deserved better. "It will be quick," the orange haired shinigami hissed, "I promise. Just let me _devour_ you."

Ulquiorra gulped, his eyes closed against the whispered words. No, he didn't care anymore. He'd tried to fight this, to do the right thing, and nothing had come of it. Why had he even tried? He was a hollow, a monster, and was incapable of anything good. His death would free her from his clutches, from his tainted, selfish love of her. She deserved Kurosaki. They were both pure while he was just some perverse soul warped and changed by death and murder.

She was better off without him.

"Yes," the voice agreed. "She is far better off without you. The whole world is. You are dangerous, a threat to everyone. With or without emotions, you continue to endanger everyone and everything. Just… let me take you from this world. Surrender to me, and all of this pain, this love, this sadness and despair, it will all go away."

That had been the original plan, right? Save the Woman and then destroy himself. But he couldn't save her, so why not just be rid of himself now? It would all be the same in the end…

"Don't listen to him!" her voice split through his clouded mind like a knife, clear as day. "Ulquiorra, don't give up! Don't listen to anything he says! He's lying to you, manipulating you!" Eyes fluttering open, the fourth blinked as the air around him was suddenly sucked upward. The ground became the sky, and he was falling into a pitch black night. Silver pillars protruded from the dirt above him and struck downward, endless as the heavens into which he plummeted. Jail bars all around him, his own personal prison.

And flying next to him, staring right into his face, was a reflection of himself. Black wings, inverted green and yellow eyes streaming with black tears. Clawed hands and feet, a tail of enormous lengths. White horns and pale skin. A hole in the middle of his chest.

A hollow.

"Why do you always manage to interfere?" it asked monotonously, its eyes drifting downwards as they continued to plummet. "You do not belong here Woman." Flapping its wings, it flashed away from him and he took a deep breath, shaking.

He knew this place. He'd been here before. It was his mental prison, a place of endless jail bars and no exits. Where the sky was limited because the earth was above his head, and where the ground was an empty void where he could fall into despair for eternity. A hopeless place, his inner self.

He was inside his own head.

This realization smacked him back into sense, his body colliding with an invisible force as his freefall came to a sudden stop. Hands spread out to catch his own body; he stared down at the darkness, then up at the wall of earth above him, then around at the endless pillars surrounding him.

He was trapped…

"Ulquiorra!" her voice again. It echoed around him. "Ulquiorra, please, don't listen to him." He stood, his green eyes searching desperately for her, but he couldn't find her. No matter where he looked, all he saw were miles and miles of silver columns. An endless jail for his conscience.

"Where are you, pest?" it was his own voice, but it was empty. It echoed around him, and he failed to find the source of it. "I do not know how you managed to get in here, but you are just as much an invader as he is. Leave this place before I find you."

"Ulquiorra, please!" she was ignoring the hollow. But she shouldn't! It was right; she needed to get out of there. She'd be just as trapped as he was. "Please, you have to stop him!"

"Orihime!" his own voice rang out, bouncing off the metal bars surrounding him. "Where are you?" He wanted to run, to find her, but he couldn't decipher where her voice coming from. Spinning around in circles, he stood in one place, a helpless fool.

"He cannot stop me," the hollow stated, his voice stronger and more lethal than any other inhabiting the area. "He is too weak. His emotions blind him and will be his downfall. He is already as good as gone. Give up Woman, it is too late."

"I won't!" she screamed and Ulquiorra desperately searched for the source of her voice. He thought he'd seen her, a flash of white in this dismal place, but as soon as he looked straight to it, it had vanished. And that was how he continued to search. A flash of orange hair, the shine of a blue hairclip, a silver eye. He'd see her out of the corner of his eye, but as soon as he'd turn she'd be gone, flashing in-between the prison bars and disappearing.

His breathing was becoming labored, panicked. She needed to get out of there; this place was too dangerous for her no matter how well she evaded the hollow flying above them. Its eyes saw everything, it would find her soon. And when that happened…

"Get out of here Orihime!" he yelled.

"Yes, leave," the hollow agreed. "You have meddled in my plans long enough. This human is hopeless; he is already in the palm of my hand, too deep in his own despair. You cannot pull him out this time; I have weakened every chain of his resolve to live."

"I don't believe you!" she screamed.

"I am right, am I not, Ulquiorra?" the green eyed teenager froze, his eyes drifting to the endless darkness below his feet. "You have given yourself up to me. You have realized the danger you pose to this Woman, to her friends… to her heart. You cannot deny the truth. The longer you fight me, the more she and everyone around you will suffer.

"You are a monster."

"Don't listen to him Ulquiorra!" her voice was so far away, and the hollows… it was so close… and so _right_.

"Listen to _me_, Ulquiorra," he could feel its breath on his neck, its clawed hand snaking its way to his shoulder, around his neck. "That Woman does not know what _we_ do; she has not seen the violence you are capable of." Every word was a whisper in his head, a convincing, calming sort of dead melody. "When you are in pain Ulquiorra, so am I. I hate to feel that. I am only trying to do us both a favor. Surrender to me, and none of that pain, none of that anguish, will remain.

"We will be empty of all that." Its sharp black nails gripped gently around his throat, its cold, lifeless body pressed against his back. He gulped. Like some terrible weight, the reiatsu was shoving him downwards once again, trying to drown him in despair. But it was… liberating at the same time. To just give in. He wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore, not about his family, not about his lack of power. Not about _her_. That terrible ache in his heart would leave and all the stress that came with it. It was a win-win situation, right? She would be free of him, to find someone more worthy of her time, and he'd be empty of all the feelings he'd ever felt for her.

It would be so easy…

No more guilt over the life he'd led before, no more disgust and self-pity. No more of this foolish _love_.

_So easy_…

"Yes, very easy," the hollow echoed, its voice right next to his ear. Its other arm twisted around Ulquiorra's abdomen, pulling him closer, black claws crawling up his chest. "It will be painless. I'll rip out your heart and devour it; you'll never have to deal with it again." A single nail punctured his skin, a dribble of blood running down his chest as his hollow practically begged him to give in, begged him for his heart. "What has it done for you anyway? Nothing. That Woman does not love you. Impossible. You are a monster, undeserving of love.

"We went over this once before, do you remember?" Ulquiorra closed his eyes. He didn't want to remember. "Back in the beginning, after you hung yourself from that closet shelf, after you learned that no one was capable of loving a monster like you. Even as a human, you were a monster." No, this hurt too much, just end it. "Give me your heart Ulquiorra, and I will. The pain will go away, but you are holding out on me. That woman has _it_ too; you have to give her up.

"You must realize that she will _never_ love you."

"Don't listen to him Ulquiorra!" her voice was a piercing ring, a fleeting hope in his world of despair. "He's lying to you! He's a hollow, he wants to devour you, he wants to be rid of you! You _know_ that! He doesn't care about you at all!"

"She doesn't know Ulquiorra," the voice hissed, quieter still yet even closer to him than before. "_She doesn't know what you are_."

"I do know what you are!" she screamed and the green eyed teenager gulped, his breathing becoming stressed and labored. Finally blinking his eyes open, he was suddenly assaulted by a blindingly bright light. It struck through the earth above his head and rained down on him. "I _do_ know what you are," she whispered softly and he closed his eyes again as her soft hand caressed his face. The claws still gripped him around his middle, and he felt torn. He was sinking, yet she was somehow managing to keep him afloat a little longer.

"_Orihime_…" he sighed into her embrace.

"Ulquiorra," she smiled down on him, her face just inches from his, her hands gripping his cheeks tenderly. Silver orbs stared down on him, even if he didn't dare open his eyes to face them. He knew what he would see, the emotion in her face, and he didn't deserve that. Not from her, not from anyone. "Don't give up Ulquiorra," her voice was begging him, pleading with him. "I have your heart, remember? And you have mine. We trusted each other to protect them, so I will. I can't let you give it to him."

"It hurts Orihime," he shook his head, a single tear streaking down his face. "I don't want it anymore…"

"Yes you do," she stated firmly. "Don't you dare say that to me. How can you say you don't want something that has given you so much? It has brought you so far Ulquiorra, don't you see that? You have a family, and friends. Loved ones." He grimaced. "How do you think they would feel if they knew you just gave up? Gave in willingly?"

"I don't know…"

"Don't lie to yourself just because it's easy," her voice was steady, her hands gripping his face more tightly, as if her hold was the only thing that would stop him from drowning. "It hurts sometimes, I know. I've lost in love, lost to death, lost to rejection, but you have to keep going strong. The positives outweigh the negatives; I know that better than anyone.

"It's hard sometimes, but you can't give up Ulquiorra," her voice cracked and he blinked his eyes open finally only to witness two tears leaking down her beautiful, shining face. "I won't let you, and you can't let yourself fall into that despair again. There is too much waiting for you beyond it."

"Why do you care so much?" his voice was barely audible as he stared into her silver eyes, searching for something, anything.

"Why?" she asked and leaned her head closer to his, their foreheads meeting as her eyelashes blinked damply against his own. "Because Ulquiorra, I _love_ you." She smiled, "because I'm _in_ love with you."

"_Why_?" he breathed and leaned in closer to her, his nose brushing hers as he closed his eye again.

"I don't know," she answered with a giggle. "The heart does what it feels like. I find it easier to just go with the flow." He frowned more deeply; didn't she have a better answer than that? Why was she always so vague about everything?

"You are so confusing to me," he replied, his hands coming up. And as he touched her face, a sudden wind whistled through the prison surrounding them. It was a piercing kind of gust and as it flew through his conscience, every bar it touched starting to crack, to crumble, to shatter and fall away into the void below. As if the pillars had been suspending the earth above, the ground started to shake, dirt and debris falling away and dropping into the emptiness so deep that none of it would ever be seen again.

Lost in the darkness.

But she protected him from it, her glowing form draped in white, feathered wings suspending them as she carried him upwards. She wouldn't let him fall. His guardian angel. His lifeline.

The woman he loved.

His entire world fell apart, disappeared beneath his feet. The claws around his waist released him, and he was suddenly free. Free of the guilt, of the loss, of the pain. He stood on nothing, was blocked by no barriers, imprisoned no longer. A star streaked sky surrounded him and she stood out in that calm darkness, a glowing beacon to his soul. His savior.

"You have to promise me something now," she whispered in his ear, her wings carrying her upwards and away from him. "Promise me you'll wake up; promise me you'll beat him. Promise me Ulquiorra." He didn't want to let her go, but she couldn't stay. He'd have to face the darkness, his demons, on his own. She couldn't fight his battles for him.

Not that he would have allowed her to anyway.

"I promise," he replied and was slightly surprised at how easily the words came to his lips. Yes, he would force his hollow back, he would win, and he would return to her. She held his heart after all; he couldn't very well stay away from her.

"I'll see you then," she decided as she released her hold on him, her wings carrying her upwards and out of his reach. He held her hands as they floated above his head momentarily, relishing in her touch, before finally letting her go.

Yes, he let her go.

He could not depend on her to keep his sorrow at bay, she was the reason he wanted to live, yes, and he leaned on her for support, but in the end he had to drive back his own despair. And if she was his reason for doing that, then that was good enough.

The sunlight she brought to his world was blown away, and he found himself one again alone in the darkness. But this wasn't the suffocating darkness he was used to. No, it held hope, it blinked with stars, and there was no earth or pillars to stop his assent.

He would fall no more.

"I suppose this means I have lost," turning, he didn't even blink as he came face to face with the hollow standing behind him. "I must say, I am a little surprised." Ulquiorra didn't say anything to it and if it wanted to fight him, he'd willingly do so, and beat it too. "I have no desire to fight you, not now. I would lose. I am no fool."

"You are smart then," Ulquiorra stated as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his black kimono.

The hollow blinked once, "Well that makes sense," it stated. "I am you…. after all…" Glancing down at its clawed hand, the hollows shoulders dropped as the blackened appendages slowly turned to dust. "Just remember one thing," it continued as its entire body started to flake away, "I am always here if you ever get some sense and realize what is good for you, human."

"I will keep that in mind," Ulquiorra replied as the remaining bits of the hollow vanished. It left one thing behind however. Raising his eyebrows slightly, the fourth walked over to the area his demon had just vacated and leaned down. Removing his hand from his pocket, he gingerly picked up the blade, its pale green hilt warming his hand as he tightened his hold.

Somewhere above him, he heard large wings flapping slowly, lazily, the creature apparently very pleased with all the new space he had created.

**oOo**

"Holy shit…" Ichigo's eyes widened as he stared down at his hands. First he'd been blinded by some bright ass light flash, and then the ground had started to glow. Now little orange sparkles were floating up from the dirt, drifting towards the sky. But that wasn't the most amazing part. No, what was causing him pause was the fact that all his injuries were healing. And not just the physical ones. His reiatsu was restoring too, his cloak and mask returning to their original forms.

He wasn't the only one astounded by the phenomenon either.

Everywhere around him, shinigami, vizard, human, were watching the same exact thing happen to them. Aside from that, the pebbles and dirt that had been blown to pieces by the battle also started to reconfigure, the entire area returning to the way it had been before Ulquiorra's crazy hollow had started whooping on their asses.

The entire fight was being rejected.

"Ichigo, look," Rukia tugged on his sleeve as his mask shattered, his hollowfication dissipating as he returned to his normal form. Glancing up, he did as he was directed. Mouth dropping open, he watched, mesmerized, as did every other person underneath the candy store.

Was it an angel?

She was shrouded in long white cloth that dropped well below her feet, elongating her form. The robes, dress, whatever it was, shimmered in the fake sunlight like snow. And sprouting from her bare back were two huge, feathered wings. They stretched to the heavens, flapping gracefully every once in a while and creating a light breeze in underground room.

Burnt orange hair was draped across her form, enveloping both her and the figure she hugged to her chest.

"Is that…?" Rukia couldn't even voice her thoughts. It was quite the contrast really, this angelic figure cradling the demon that had caused the disruption in the first place. Black leather wings against white feathered ones.

Yes, complete opposites.

And as they watched, those black leather wings started to disappear, turn to dust. The claws did too, the fur shedding loose and disappearing into nothing. Lastly, a large helmet plummeted to the ground, cracking in half as it hit.

"It is her…" Ichigo breathed as the angel lowered herself to the ground, the pale form she held so lovingly in her embrace slowly meeting the ground as well. In a heap of white and feathers, the two collapsed into the dirt. "That's… Inoue…"

He slowly blinked his eyes open and stared at her, his green orbs taking in every piece of her. She smiled, her hands loosening around his waist. He was alive, and he'd won.

"So… it really was you… wasn't it…?" he asked quietly and she giggled lightly. "I thought maybe I had made it up, but you were there, it was really you." He was tired, _so_ tired, and by the drained look on her face, she was too.

"Yes, it was me," she replied quietly as his pale hand reached up to caress her face gently. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward, his forehead pressing to hers as he closed his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered, their noses brushing for only a second before he pressed his lips to her.

_Thank you, Orihime._

**oOo**

"You've figured it out?" the blonde man nodded happily to his addresser, that being Isshin, and his spectators, his bucket hat nestling further down on his head. He looked very pleased with himself, and his audience, it was rather large that being it almost every single spiritual being in Karakura, waited in bated breath for him to begin.

"Well," his eyes drifted over to Ulquiorra and Orihime, who were sitting next to each other, the orange haired girl yawning. They'd only just been woken up after a mere three hours sleep. Ulquiorra looked less than happy, if his frown was anything to say about it. "It seems that Miss Inoue," she raised her eyebrows expectantly as the mentioning of her name, "is the first human to ever reach a release somewhat similar to a bankai."

"A bankai?" Yumichika scoffed in amazement. "A human reaching bankai? How is that even possible? I thought only shinigami could do that." Urahara shrugged in response.

"I said it was _like_ a bankai, not that it was one," the blonde scientist stated. "There have been others that speculated about her hairclips, stating that they were similar to very small zanpakuto. I'd say her original abilities were probably equal to that of a shikai, and this new form she's called forth would have to be… like a bankai."

"You really have no idea, do you?" Ichigo asked, deadpan.

"I can only speculate," the candy salesman decided and few disgruntled grumbles echoed around the room. So in other words they were no closer to understanding then they were before. The power Orihime had released had been immense. She'd healed everyone in the underground training area (including Tatsuki and Ulquiorra's human body) and completely restored the area as well. It was a power far beyond anything she had exhibited previously.

"Well," Orihime shrugged, "whatever it was, I don't know that I could do it again. I don't remember how I even ended up in that… form. One second I was on the ground, the next I was in Ulquiorra's head and-"

"Wait, what?" Urahara cut her off and the whole room looked to him again, silent. "What do you mean you were 'in his head'?" The orange haired girl felt all eyes slowly turn to her and she blushed. All this attention was embarrassing.

"Well I…" she scratched the back of her head and cast her significant other a quick glance. He was staring intently at her, waiting. "I somehow just ended up… wherever he was. I don't know. His hollow was there and…" She diverted her silver eyes from Urahara; the man was staring at her with an intensity that made her extremely uncomfortable.

"You entered his inner world, his consciousness?" Again, Orihime's eyes drifted to Ulquiorra's, his green ones meeting hers with equal amounts of confusion concerning the current subject. "That…" the blonde scientist shook his head. "That shouldn't be possible."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest and stared between the tired couple on the floor and Urahara, something between suspicion and curiosity spread across his grumpy face.

"What do I mean?" the clogged man shook his head. "What I mean is exactly what I said. The inner world of any soul shouldn't be accessible by anyone other than themselves. The place is the deepest part of the soul, protected by their own reiatsu. No other soul should be compatible, should be able to cross that ground. It is… too personal…" The blonde man narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as the room fell silent.

"Well then…" Orihime frowned. "Maybe…" She didn't know, she didn't understand any of it to begin with. No one did it seemed. And as if to prove her point, Urahara stood, explained to them that he had research to do, and vanished into the back of his store without another word.

"Well that wasn't very enlightening," Harribel crossed her arms over her chest irritably and a few of the others in the room sighed in agreement.

**oOo**

"You really didn't have to," she smiled, her fingers wound together below her chin as she stared up at him. It was silly really, considering what had just happened only some hours earlier, but she felt giddy and… a whole plethora of other things she couldn't even begin to describe. "I could have made it home by myself."

"I do not doubt that," he replied, "but how could I possibly pass up the opportunity to bless myself with your company? I am selfish you know." She giggled, realizing for the first time that he wasn't being charming by accident.

He was actually trying.

It felt kind of like a dream really. Here he was, standing at her door in a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt and zip-up sweater, and she stood opposite him in a light jacket, skirt, and tennis shoes. The clothes their friends had picked up for them after their uniforms had been drenched in blood and torn, a fact that neither of them wanted to deal with currently. Was it a crime for them to want to act… normal?

She was Orihime Inoue, high school student. He was Ulquiorra Cifer, high school student. That was all she wanted them to be tonight. She knew it was impossible in the end, that their pasts and lifestyles would never actually allow such a phenomenon, but… she liked to pretend once in a while. Pretend that he didn't have a hollow festering inside him, that she wasn't plagued by some strange new power no one understood. That they didn't have a painful past together, that he had never kidnapped her and she had never failed to see how much he needed her.

What would their lives be like she wondered if they _had_ just met in high school, if they were completely ignorant of the real world?

Yes, what a dream that would be…

"Well in that case," she smiled a little wider, "why don't you come inside? I wouldn't want to deny you your selfish needs." Turning on her heel, she walked into her apartment, leaving him behind. He only paused outside her door for a few seconds before following. Closing the door behind him, he was greeted with quiet. Both her house guests, Toshiro and Rangiku, were still at Urahara's. Apparently some of the shinigami were having some drinking party and the captain of the tenth squad had felt obligated to stay and watch over them.

This had all been decided of course _after_ Ulquiorra had made it clear he would be escorting his Woman home.

"It's a little messy," she turned back to him for a second, an uneasy grimace stretched across her face. "Rangiku isn't the most… tidy person in the world." He didn't reply, instead he simply watched her, his heart rate picking up for absolutely no reason. All she was doing was removing her shoes; her fingers reaching down to delicately pluck at the laces as she bent her knee forward. Her hair fell in front of her face, her silver eyes momentarily distracted with her task.

Is this what it felt like? Is this what he had almost given up? Just looking at her…

He didn't even know how to describe it. There was a weight in his chest, but it wasn't dragging him down or burdensome. No, it was a welcome kind of weight, as if a void had been filled and then overflowed, pouring through the rest of his body. It made his heart race, his head warm, his legs and arms shaky.

This… _love_ nonsense… perhaps he _could_ get used to it.

"I'll be right back," she stated as she made her way towards the door on the left side of the apartment. He didn't reply, just watched her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. The way her skirt moved with each swing of her hips, how her hair fell forward over her shoulders as she reached down to turn the doorknob.

She was hypnotizing…

And then she vanished into the bedroom. He knew it was absurd, he knew she was there, just inside the room, but that he could no longer see her was strangely deflating. He loved to watch her. Her facial expressions, her smile, her eyes. Her beauty.

And _she_ loved _him_?

Hands still in his pockets, he paced forward and followed her into the room. It wasn't huge; there was a bed in the middle, two windows on either side, a dresser and desk against the wall to the left, a three piece bookshelf on the right. She was currently putting her jacket away in her closet which was set in the wall on his left, parallel to the door. He'd been in her bedroom a few times before, usually to grab her jacket for her or something similar in reason.

Her gaze turned to him as she slid her closet doors shut. She smiled, her cheeks flushing slightly when she noticed he was staring at her. It wasn't a new development really, but she never failed to turn red when his eyes remained focused on her.

"Am I really that interesting to stare at?" she asked as she strolled towards him, her hands held behind her back as she glanced up at him, her smile returning to her face.

"Yes," he replied simply, his hand automatically reaching up to slip a strand of her orange hair behind her ear. The light in the room was warm and it cast a safe yellow flush on everything. She glowed in it, her silver eyes sparkling. Then again, perhaps it didn't have anything to do with the light in the room, maybe that was just her natural ability to shine sunlight into his world.

"If you say so," she sighed dramatically as she draped her arms around his neck. "Though I thought we decided a long time ago that you were far more interesting to look at than me, what with those eyes and that complexion." He raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Woman," he started, "whatever interest you find in my appearance is surely shrouded by your own brilliance, you are just too insecure to see it despite how blindingly obvious it is." She had started smiling halfway through his spiel, her arms tightening around his neck as she stepped closer to him.

"You're such a romantic," she laughed and received no reply. He'd heard this from her many, many times, though he was still slightly stupefied by what she meant. As always, he was simply stating the truth.

Cocking her head to the side, she scrunched her lips and nose curiously. "You know," she was giving him the most peculiar look and it was making him slighting self-conscious, "you're taller than you used to be." Shoulders dropping, he stared down at her, slightly amused by her observation though not showing it.

"Yes, that is true," he replied. "When I became a human again, my physical form started growing." He glared down at her as she started to giggle uncontrollably. "What, may I ask, is so funny?" She just shook her head good naturedly and didn't answer. He frowned, his lips tightening in irritation. He did not enjoy being laughed at for something he could do nothing about. It wasn't his fault he'd died at an age that was critical during human male growth. She didn't need to laugh about it.

Silence.

"Hey Ulquiorra?" her gaze had drifted to the ground as her amusement died and he waited patiently for her to continue. "Why… why does everything have to be so complicated?" Her voice was soft and he furrowed his brows.

"I…" That had not been anything near what he'd expected her to ask. "I don't know." She sighed and he raised his hands to her waist, holding her gently. "This is just… the way things are. The reasons, if there are any, are a mystery just as much to me as to you."

"Do you ever wonder what… what things would be like if we just forgot everything?" his frown deepened. "I mean, like… I don't know…" She laughed and leaned her forehead against his chest. They were silent momentarily as he contemplated her words.

"Woman," his voice was soft above hers and she listened intently to his voice. "I know what it is like to forget everything. I know what it is like to _want_ to forget everything. I do not remember any of my previous life as a human aside from how I died, but I know I wanted to forget it, thus I became a hollow. Your life was one of normalcy before the world of the dead dropped in on you. Mine… mine _was_ death before you brought me back. I chose to forget and lost my humanity. It is complicated, this life, but I have no desire to let any of it go again."

She didn't know why, but as silence fell once again, she felt water well up in her eyes. It couldn't be explained, there was just something about what he'd said that saddened her. She tried to hold them back, but alas she failed and two tears streaked down her cheeks.

"Even if…" she sniffed and his hold on her tensed as he realized she was upset. "Even if it was just all the hollow and shinigami stuff, all of the fighting and the bloodshed, even then you wouldn't want to forget about it?" She couldn't look up at him, she was afraid too. She was too ashamed. After all they had been through, and she suggested something like that…

"No," his answer was firm, resolved, and she felt more tears crawl their way out her eyes. "You forget something," he pulled her even closer, his arms wrapping protectively around her waist, encompassing her small form as her hands lowered to grip his shirt. "If it had not been for those things, I would not feel about you as I do now, and without that, where would I be?" They both knew the answer to that one.

"I mean right now," she buried her face in his shirt. "If we could forget about it right now, just leave it all behind." She could feel his gaze on her and guessed that there was a curious look in his eyes as she muffled her voice in the fabric of his t-shirt. "If we could just… run away from everything and live normal lives…"

He didn't reply at first, but when he did, his answer was the same.

"I would not want that," he affirmed. "For the first time since I became a human, I do not want that. At first, maybe, to forget about everything in my past would have been a blessing. But if I did that, if I was ignorant, then I could not protect you." She tried to gulp back her tears and failed. "You have saved me… _so_ many times, and the one time you needed me, I was useless. I do not like this power I have, but after today I know that I need it, if only to serve my selfish desires to keep you by my side." He sighed. "I thought I had lost you once before, when I left you on top of Hueco Mundo, and then I thought it had happened again a few days ago." He shook his head. "I refuse to allow that to happen once more. Never again."

He was perfectly aware that her body had begun shaking halfway through his speech, that she was even more upset than before he had offered her his reason. Whatever he'd said, she didn't like it.

"No," she shook her head against him, her long hair becoming a tangled mess at her emotion driven actions. "I don't want you to have these powers again; I don't want any of it. I don't care if you can't protect me, I just… I just…"

Ulquiorra furrowed his brows. Reaching up, he cradled her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Gently, he pulled her up to face him, his eyes narrowed in curiosity. She sniffed, tears streaking down her cheeks, her eyes already red and puffy. Frowning even more severally, he went to try and wipe the salty liquid from her face, but was stopped when her hand came up to hold his, her shaking fingers clutching at his pale wrist tightly.

She pursed her lips, another sob rippling through her body as she diverted her gaze to the ground again. He didn't move, didn't say anything. She would tell him.

"I…" another wave of tears cascaded down her cheeks and her next was hardly a whisper. "I almost _lost_ you…"

His heart froze in his chest.

"I was so scared," she continued, her voice still soft. "I… I don't think I could… could lose you again Ulquiorra." She raised her hand to her mouth, as if to try and block her sobs, yet failing. More tears flooded her face, her body trembling silently.

At first he didn't know what to do. He'd seen her upset, hell he'd seen her cry, but not… not like this. It was obvious that this was no ordinary troubled Orihime. No, she wasn't shedding these tears because she had injured herself, or because he'd said something stupid, or because he'd accidentally broken up with her. No, this was something entirely different. There was something about the way her body shook, how her fists clenched, how her eyes squeezed shut in a vain attempt to steady herself.

She was trying to hold something in… or perhaps she was trying keep something together.

"Please stop crying," he raised both his hands to her face, his own heart breaking at the pain and loss etched into her features. "I'm sorry," he tried to wipe the wetness from her face, but the water just kept flowing. "Shhh," he tried to sooth her, but it was like she couldn't hear him. She was caught in a nightmare, her own personal one where…

Where he wasn't there.

He knew what that felt like, he'd indulged in the same delusion many, _many_ times before, to the point where he couldn't decide if he'd actually lived it or not. A world that was suddenly empty, a world without her. Someplace without her love, without her compassionate eyes, her beautiful smile. All of it had been gone. And it had broken his heart every time. It wasn't like a knife wound, or a gunshot, no, it was worse. There was no rhyme or reason behind it, it was just… empty. An invisible hole straight through the core of his being. One that made him nauseous, that made him hysterical and insane. She was his addiction and without her he could find nothing to stifle the withdrawals.

And now he could see the same thing running across her face. The fear, the sorrow and despair, the insanity, the sickness.

The suffering.

"I am here Orihime," he whispered brokenly and her body jolted at the sound of his voice, her lips grimacing as her wobbling legs gave out beneath her. She started to sink to the ground and he caught her around the waist, allowing her decent to the carpet to be gentler. She would not fall, not while he was there to catch her.

"Please," he begged as her behind landed softly on the floor. He sat directly in front of her, his legs wrapping around her body as he pulled her closer to him. She didn't object, yet at the same time he wondered if she even realized she was being held. "Listen to me," he placed his hand on her cheek, his nails imbedded in her orange locks. "I am not dead Orihime." Her breathing started to skip then, her chest heaving as she lost control of her own body. "Calm down, I am right here. Everything is fine." Wrapping his arms around her small frame, he pulled her into his lap, his nose resting on her cheek.

"I am not going anywhere Orihime," he whispered. "Everything is fine now, I promise."

"I love you," she replied quietly, her body still trembling against his. "And I'm so _afraid_." He closed his eyes, his lips brushing her cheek lightly as he wrapped his legs more tightly around her.

"I know," he muttered softly, "I am afraid too." Opening his eyes again, he found himself looking straight into her silver orbs, still wet and shining in the dim light. "I am so terrified I cannot even explain it." He pressed his forehead to hers; taking in every bit of her he could, so that no matter where he was, he might stand some semblance of a chance at bringing her to the forefront of his mind. It wasn't as sufficient as the real thing, but it helped when things seemed bleak and unforgiving.

When things seemed hollow.

"I have learned something from you though," he continued quietly as he stroked her hair. "You taught me that no matter how afraid we are, being alone is always worse. That we have to take risks to find happiness." She pursed her lips, her long eyelashes blinking against his skin. "Even if those risks terrify us."

She nodded silently, the continuous stream of tears never ceasing down her cheeks. She still shook, she still trembled against him, and with a clumsy kind of grapple, she took hold of his shirt again, her knuckles white with the strain, as if her grip on him would somehow keep him grounded. She took hold of him as if he were going to disappear at any moment.

She still had nightmares about that day; they were more frequent the closer she got to him. What would he think, she wondered, if she told him about that…

"Ulquiorra," her voice was barely audible. "Stay with me…" He furrowed his brows as she stared into his green eyes. "Stay with me here, please." Slowly, he nodded. Honestly, he'd had no intention of going home anyway. And if she needed him there, then he would never refuse. "I need to know you're real… okay?" Slowly, he nodded again.

She knew she was acting completely and utterly absurd, that her worries were juvenile and childish. Yet she couldn't help it. It had been a straining week, one where she'd spent almost the whole time worrying about the man in front of her, and the rest of her time concerned for everyone else.

And then there had been his face. She still didn't know how she'd done it, gotten inside his head that is. The thought of where they would be had she not done so terrified her. Did he not know how close he'd come to being devoured? She'd seen it happening, seen his eyes die right in front of her, seen him return to that horrid place he had tried to leave behind. He'd been so empty, so void of everything. So… dead.

That was why she was so terrified. The thing that had dragged him back to that, the monster, it lived inside of him. A constant threat, an eternal battle. She feared for him now more than she ever had, now that she had some kind of understanding of what this hollowfication thing was all about. She'd seen it with her own eyes. The hollow… they weren't just feelings or ghosts that haunted their humans. They were real to the touch full-blooded killers with their own agendas.

How did he even begin to keep something like that at bay?

She was so scared that it would take him over. She didn't fear for her life in the case of such an event, she merely feared for his. He'd barely made it out alive, how could he possibly keep it chained back his entire life?

He had to lose sometime… didn't he?

"You have nothing to worry about," he stated as if reading her mind. Her sobbing had calmed some, her breathing a bit more controlled. "You can't hide from me anymore Woman; I have learned to read you." He sighed. "You have been giving me that look since we woke up earlier. I assure you that that monster will never control me again."

"How do you know?"

"Because," his gaze softened, "I have you now. And so long as I have that, I have a reason to get up in the morning. To fight the monster inside of me." She smiled a little at his confession though her eyes were still sad, still distressed. "Please stop worrying," he whispered. "I hate seeing you like this."

Leaning forward, he gently pressed his lips to hers, the salty taste causing his heart to tighten even more. Pulling back, he murmured against her soft, tear stained skin.

"I am real," he assured as another wave of water streaked from her eyes. "I promise." He felt her nod against him, her head moving forward to catch his kiss once again. She was shaking against him, her lips trembling even as he tried to hold them still. Her hands tightened on his shirt and he wrapped his arms more protectively around her middle, pulling her as close to him as possible.

Yes, there had been a time some days ago, when he was lost in his own head, that her touch had haunted his dreams. That he'd feared never being able to relish her form again. To never hear her voice or run his fingers through her hair, to never stare into the silver irises and see something reflected back at him that caused his heart to jump. He'd feared for her loss as much as she did his, but he knew she was real now. Even if he'd lived an eternity inside his own consciousness, he would never again doubt her love for him. Even if this reality was a dream, _this_ woman, the one right in front of him, _she_ loved him.

Real or not, he knew this to be the single most absolute truth in his life now. It was something he couldn't see, couldn't always comprehend, but he had faith in it. He had faith in her.

Pulling away from her, he ran his hand across her bangs, wiping the stray hairs out of her face. He could feel her soft breath on his lips, her heart against his own, beating rapidly. And with a tenderness he attributed to her, he pulled her hands from her shirt, holding them in one of his own as his other gently went around to cradle the back of her head.

Slowly, he lowered her to the carpet.

Her gaze didn't leave his once as he stared down at her, as her breasts rose up and down to a steady rhythm, as the tears continued to fall from her beautiful eyes. Placing his left hand to the side of her head, he used the other to frame her cheek, his thumb making a vain, useless attempt to wipe away her sorrow.

Leaning down, he placed a light brush of his lips on her cheek and her breath caught in her throat, her chest quivering beneath his. Reaching up, she brought her arms around his neck, her embrace trapping him to her. His hand drifted from her cheek to her neck, his fingers like feathers against her soft flesh. Downward, down, down, down he travelled, his nails sweeping the side of her breast beneath her shirt, her ribs that were quaking with every breath she took, her hips shrouded in the fabric of her skirt. Her thigh, her bare thigh that had become exposed when she'd sunk to the ground.

Her milky, irresistible skin.

His lips never left her cheek, his nose buried in her hair as he took in her scent, something akin to spring on a breezy day, when the leaves from the fall before had dried and blew off to join their waiting partners. When the sun came through the clouds and showered the world in new life.

His breath of fresh air.

Her hands travelled to his hair, her fingers twisting through the black locks, her touch causing his breath to catch, his heart to jump in his chest as though it had just started beating for the first time. He was dizzy, lightheaded, faint. He was completely drunk on her.

And as she moved her hands to the side of his face, as she pushed him back gently, he sighed and allowed her to manipulate him as she saw fit. He rose up at her touch and she sat up as well. Her breath was on his face again and he blinked his eyes open so as to see her silver gaze. And as he did, she removed her hands from his person, her hair falling around her shoulders in graceful waves of fiery orange.

She didn't blink and he was hypnotized. He couldn't pull his stare from her returning one. He sat limp in front of her, a victim to her every whim, her eyes his downfall and his wings as well. Even as she pulled her shirt up and over her head, even as she unlatched her bra and brushed it to the side, he watched her gaze on him. And as she pulled his sweater down his arms and off his body, as she reached down to remove his t-shirt, pulling it up over his head and tossing it to the side, he didn't dare look away from her, from those determined eyes that had captured him long ago.

And as she closed them, he sighed. Leaning forward, she cupped his cheek in her soft hand, her nose brushing his hair, her lips like wisps against his ear as she whispered.

"Show me that you're real."

He followed suit then in closing his own green eyes, his chest heaving in a deep breath as his hands travelled down the skin of her waist.

He could do that.

**ooooooooooooooooooo **

Oh my gooses, I spent forever contemplating the end to this chapter. At first I thought, meh, yeah, I can go into more detail, but it didn't seem right. I guess this is just one of those moments that needs to stay behind closed doors. Not because it's inappropriate, but because as an author I could do its beauty no justice.

I figure, let them have their moment alone, no?

There'll be more Ulquihime action later, I promise, and it won't be as delicate as this /wink.

Anyways, so I hope this was sufficient for all you Ulquihime mongers out there since the entire thing was all about them. I know, long time in coming. But now Ulquiorra has beaten his hollow and we can get to the meat of the plot… and the meat of other things if you know what I mean /winks again.

Ulquiorra's hollow is a manipulative bastard isn't he? Jeez, all he had left to do was tell Ulquiorra he was too ugly and fat to live and the poor guy would have fallen apart then and there. I know, I made hollow Ulquiorra a creeper too, coming up behind him and whispering in his ear. Hehe, I like it.

And Orihime is useful! Woo, I'm glad for that.

I think that's all I have to say about that and I hope I succeeded in making this chapter beautiful.

If not, well then I hope you liked it anyway.

On to other things…

So… how many of you have read the new Bleach chapter number 426? That little kid with the black hair… he looks familiar no? Yes, I am getting my hopes up here. It could be possible after all. Nel reverted to her child form after nearly being killed, so why couldn't other hollow… Not only that but it is stated directly that he does not like Ichigo "no matter how much time passes." Interesting, yes? AND the kid was introduced for only two pages and served no purpose in the story whatsoever which means Kubo was merely introducing him to the readers, thus it can be assumed that he may later play an important part.

At least, that's what I got from it.

But who knows right? Kubo is pretty good at plot twists, damn him. And at killing off my favorite characters.

Your views?

Oh, and I uploaded another Ulquihime story cuz I'm insane. I haven't even updated that AU one yet and I'm on to other things. Irritating I know. But the way I see it, I can write all kinds of things and so long as this one is updated people will be happy. It's called The Logical Choice.

Its plot is darker and serves only to nurture my love of the thought of Ulquihime babies. If you don't like it then don't read it, but I think it's going to turn out to be pretty hilarious personally (if I ever finish it).

Anyway, thank you for all the feedback I got last chapter, hopefully this will satisfy your appetites.

Love in a Beautiful Way,

Toodles

Please R&R, I read every review and each one inspires me to not only continue onward, but to get up in the morning. So press that little button please. THANKS!

OH! And if any of you want to see the REAL Colonel Fluffy Bottoms, she is my Fanfiction avatar :D


	23. Our Beautiful Kind of Love

**The Definition of Love**

_"It's **not **always **rainbows **and **butterflies**_  
_ It's **compromise **that moves us **along**_  
_ My **heart **is **full **and my door's **always open**_  
_ You can come **anytime **you **want**_

_ I **don't mind** spending **everyday**_  
_ Out on your corner in the **pouring rain**_  
_ Look for the **girl **with the** broken smile**_  
_ Ask her if she wants to **stay awhile**_  
_ And she **will **be **loved**_  
_ She **will **be **loved**"_

_**She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5  
**_

**Chapter 23: Our Beautiful Kind of Love  
**

He sat up slowly, his green eyes blinking away the bright sunlight filtering in through the windows on either side of the bed. And as he brushed his hair to the side, he glanced at the clock. It read 9:47 and he quickly did the math in his head. They'd been attacked on a Monday, and he'd been out for four days after, which meant today was Saturday.

What lovely news.

Glancing down, his gaze drifted up the sheeted form of the angel lying next to him. She was still sleeping, her orange hair feathering out and down her bare back as she burrowed the side of her face into the pillow. She frowned momentarily, mumbled to herself, and then resumed a peaceful expression.

What was she dreaming about he wondered?

Well he'd just have to ask her when she woke up he supposed. He had no intention of cutting he rest short, she could remain in slumber for however long her body deemed necessary. He could occupy himself till then. In fact staring at her for the rest of the day would be more than sufficient.

The rest of the day huh…

It was Saturday; he didn't have to be anywhere. They could stay in her apartment all day…

Yes, he liked that thought very much. But wait…

Glancing down at the floor, he spotted his jeans, which had been dragged precariously close to the bed. They were the only article of clothing somewhat within the vicinity, and it was almost insulting how they encroached on their slumber. Yet, the night before, they'd had a valid reason to be there. Taking Grimmjow's advice into account, Ulquiorra had made a point of carrying sexual protection with him on a regular basis. Last night it had come in handy, as his older brother had predicted it would, and he'd had to find his jeans and retrieve the condom from the pocket, hence their proximity to the bed.

Tightening his lips into a frown, he glared down at the denim. They did little for him now however. He'd only ever pocketed one condom at a time.

This was unacceptable, especially if his plan to stay in his Woman's apartment all day was to be executed correctly. He needed to find a solution to this problem, and quickly. Eyeing the ceiling, he considered his options. If he remembered correctly, there was a small general store just down the street from her apartment complex. That would serve his purposes quite nicely.

Rising to his feet carefully, so as not to disturb the bed, he glanced around the room. Furrowing his brows, he walked about the end of the bed, glanced in the closet, searched _beneath_ the bed, and even peeked out into the main room.

Where were his boxers?

Well, it didn't matter he supposed. He'd only end up taking them off again anyway. Going back over to the bed, he slipped on his jeans and located his t-shirt tucked in the corner on the far side of the room. His shoes were tossed precariously in the open closet. Once outwardly clothed at least, he cast a final glance at the redhead still sleeping in the bed before heading towards the door.

If he ran, he'd be back not only in a hastier fashion, but the cold wouldn't get to him either. Those sounded like valid reasons to hurry and with a shrug he breached the outside world.

**oOo**

No.

No, no, no, no, **no**!

Why, _why_ were his plans always being dashed? He'd been gone a total of _maybe_ fifteen minutes and already his ideas for Saturday were slipping away. All he needed to hear was that gruff, annoying voice to know it was all over. It was like the sound of impending doom in his ears.

But he could fight back, right?

Maybe...

He was suddenly very depressed.

Turning the knob on the door, he sighed as he shoved it open, his normal frown deepening as his green eyes flashed with both anger and disappointment. In his hands he held a plastic bag containing a single box. What use its contents would be now...

And as he entered the apartment, three sets of eyes turned to him.

"Where'd you go?" his Woman asked curiously as she cocked her head to the side, her long hair cascading down her shoulder. He didn't mean to appear so unhappy, but, dammit, if those two hadn't shown up then she wouldn't be awake, which also meant she wouldn't be clad in a pink tank-top and pajama pants, and his life would be so much better.

"Who cares?" Grimmjow whined from his spot on the sofa next to Tatsuki. "Get your stuff, Urahara told me to bring you over there when me and Ichigo went to talk to him. So let's go." Ulquiorra glared death into his older brother's form as a feeling of extreme stubbornness overtook him.

"No," he stated simply and the sixth raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. "Leave, now. Neither of you are welcome here." Both Grimmjow and Tatsuki cast the redhead in pink questioning looks. She in turn shrugged and smiled uneasily. "I said leave."

Tatsuki whipped her head around to the fourth, fuming. "I'm pretty sure," she started, "that this is _Orihime's_ apartment and that _you_ cannot dictate anything." The green eyed man turned his glare from Grimmjow to the sixths dark haired girlfriend. He was really not in the mood for this.

"I do not care," he stated dangerously. "I am not going to Urahara's, I have already made plans, and in order for them to be successfully initiated, you two must leave, so do both this Woman and I a favor and vacate the area."

"_Excuse_ me?" the karate champion rose to her feet while her blue haired significant other guffawed behind her, apparently catching on to Ulquiorra's plans and finding it humorous that they had interrupted. "I don't know what your problem is, but if you don't change your attitude, I'm going to beat you until you do."

"Let me see you try."

"Wanna take this outside bitch?"

"How about _you_ go outside and _I_ will stay in here."

"I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Tatsuki, Ulquiorra!" the redhead had risen to her feet and was standing between the two, her hands outstretched as if to halt any kind of confrontation. "Stop, okay?" The dark haired woman huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and continued glaring at her best-friends boyfriend.

"He started it," she stated immaturely.

"You initiated the fight," the fourth countered.

"_Stop_!" Orihime whined as Grimmjow continued to laugh from his spot on the couch. Ulquiorra was fully aware he was acting like a child, but, well, fuck, he wasn't asking for a lot here. Why was he always being interrupted at such crucial times? Didn't his brother and his stupid girlfriend have better things to do other than bother him and his Woman?

"Well whatever plans you had have been cancelled," Tatsuki continued despite her best friends begging. "Orihime has already agreed to go out with Rukia and I, so it looks like you lucked out." Shoulders suddenly sagging as that news entered his ears, Ulquiorra turned his gaze from the black haired karate champion to his redhead, his eyes a pathetic kind of green as he stared at her with rejection and disappointment.

His Woman in turn grimaced and walked up to him, her hands twined together under her chin.

"I didn't know you'd made plans," she muttered sheepishly and he sighed. He wanted to go into more detail about said plans, but his green gaze drifted back to the other two occupants in the room and he glared instead. Grabbing his Woman by the shoulders, he turned her forcefully, much to her squeaking surprise, and marched her back towards her bedroom. His narrowed eyes never left the two intruders until he'd closed the door to the bedroom.

"What is going on?" she asked innocently now that they were alone. He sighed angrily and reached into the plastic bag in his hands. Holding the box up as he dropped the bag, he pointed at it sharply and with a severe kind of intensity. She in turn glanced away and blushed as she scratched the back of her head. "Oh..."

"It is Saturday," he hissed. "We could have locked the doors and ignored them all day." She glanced at the bedroom door hesitantly, he could see she was swaying in his direction and contemplating kicking them out as well. But alas she sighed and he dropped his hands to his sides in defeat.

"I already told Tatsuki that I'd go out with her and Rukia," she insisted as she frowned at him. "What would I tell her? That I changed my mind and am going to stay in bed with my boyfriend all day?"

"Yes," he stated bluntly.

"_Ulquiorra_," she sounded scolding as she tore her gaze away from his and walked over to her dresser. He growled in turn and tossed the box to the floor before flopping face down on her bed, his legs hanging over the edge as he tried unsuccessfully to suffocate himself in the bed sheets. "Oh, I found these by the way." He peered at her out of one eye as she tossed his blue plaid boxers across the room.

They landed pointedly on his head and he groaned in response as he buried his face in the sheets again.

"They were hanging on the top corner of the door," she continued as she pulled her clothes for the day out of her dresser. He didn't reply to this and she cast him a curious look before sighing. "Jeez," she continued. "I guess all those health teachers weren't lying when they said there was only one thing on teenage boys' minds." She expected a glare from him at that one, but he didn't even move.

Frowning, she closed her dresser, grabbed the clothes she'd chosen, and made her way back to the bed. Setting her articles down next to him, she lifted the boxers from his head to find that he still had his face stuffed in her sheets. Gently grabbing the hair on the back of his skull, she lifted and he took a sudden breath.

"Do not do that Woman," he issued irritably. "You are tampering with my endeavors to commit suicide via suffocation." She sighed in disgust and dropped his head back to the bed.

"You shouldn't say stuff like that…" she muttered as she removed her pajama pants and reached for her jeans. He, having been watching her, took advantage of the opportunity and sat up as he reached out. Grabbing her around the waist, he forcefully hefted her onto the bed.

"Ulquiorra!" she squeaked and dropped her jeans to the floor as he dragged her across the sheets towards him. And as he finished sitting up, her back collided with his chest as she landed rather clumsily in his lap. Wrapping one arm around her waist as he held her in place, he used the other to brush her hair to the side, revealing her neck and shoulder. Bending his head forward, he laid a heated kiss just beneath her ear. "Ulqui…orra…" she breathed, her resolve quickly dissolving as his lips travelled adamantly down her neck.

Turning her face so her nose was brushing his hair, her breath warmed his ear and he leaned back up, his mouth capturing hers. She returned the gesture with much the same gusto, her entire body rotating in his embrace as her hands pulled at his t-shirt with need. Running his fingers down her waist, he held her hips tightly as he forced her back down on the bed.

Falling into the soft sheets, she gasped, but her breath was soon stolen from her lungs as he leaned down and captured her lips once again. She in turn ran her nails down his chest, her light, feathery fingers finding the rim of his t-shirt. Lifting it, her hand caressed the hardened abs beneath.

Caressed a little _too_ lightly actually.

Body instinctively jerking upwards, he paused in his devouring of her mouth, his eyes widening as her fingers became spiders legs against his skin.

"Woman!" he hissed down at her. She was smiling deviously and he was about to grab at her hands when she ran them across his stomach again. Jumping away from her, he hadn't anticipated where the edge of the bed was and with a surprised jolt, found himself crashing to the floor.

"Sorry," she whispered, a silly smile plaster across her face as she leaned over the bed to stare down at him, "but I promised Tatsuki." With an apologetic shrug and a grimace, she vanished from his sight as he glared at the ceiling and cursed his human body for being so weak and… ticklish.

Reaching for her clothes, the redhead was just about to climb off the bed when a shriek was pulled from her throat. Jumping to a stand, she whipped around to see her boyfriend climbing back up onto the bed, his hand outstretched where he had brushed her ankle with his fingers. Whining in a pleading type way, she tried to get him to understand as he stared at her with those wanting green eyes. She'd run out of resolve if he didn't stop it.

Hugging her clothes to her chest, she huffed in determination before prancing to the door. He sighed and frowned more deeply when she glanced back at him, but he'd just have to get over it. Pulling the door open, she whipped around the corner and closed it behind her.

Leaning against the wooden slab, she sighed in relief, a silly grin plastered across her face.

Grimmjow and Tatsuki raised their brows skeptically at her.

"Phew," she breathed and stood up straight, the smile never leaving her face. "It's pretty dangerous in there." Shaking her head, she toed her way across the living room to the bathroom, the clothes held in her hands doing little to hide her pantless legs. The two other occupants stared after her before she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door.

Then they looked at each other and shrugged.

Standing, Grimmjow made his way towards Orihime's bedroom. Shoving the door open, his face dropped at the pathetic sight before him. His younger brother laid halfway up on the bed, his face buried in the sheets, almost as if he had somehow managed to melt into the mattress.

"You're just sad," the blue haired teenager stated and shook his head. His nose then scrunched up in disgust and he crossed his arms over his chest. "And talk about indecent. First Pet walks out without any pants, and now _your_ pants are falling down. Quit showing off your crack and put some boxers on! For fucks sake, I swear!"

**oOo**

The two bothers flopped down on the floor next to the orange haired shinigami. They sat around a table and on the other side sat a blonde man in a bucket hat. He smiled at their arrival and Ulquiorra sighed. Grimmjow in turn glared at him and Ichigo cast them both a questioning eyebrow.

"Well," Urahara started with a happy tone, "glad to see everyone is having a lovely morning." The fourth's frown deepened and he sighed again. "So, Grimmjow, Ichigo, you did as I said and brought Ulquiorra with you. I think I know what you two want, but I don't think our green eyed guest does, so why don't you enlighten him?"

Both Ichigo and Grimmjow turned to the dark haired man, their voices speaking in unison. "We want to know how you got a second release." Raising his eyebrows, Ulquiorra first turned his gaze to Ichigo, then drifted it over to Grimmjow. There was silence for a few moments before he finally opened his mouth.

"Like I would fucking tell _you_," he replied, his green eyes narrowing at Grimmjow accusingly. The sixth growled, his hands balling into fists at his sides as his younger brother glanced away from them, his head drifting up to stare at the ceiling as he leaned back on his palms.

"Wow," Ichigo's shoulders dropped. "What did you do to piss _him_ off?" His question was obviously directed at Grimmjow.

"I'm going to kick your ass you little white fucker," the sixth hissed at his brother who in turn sniffed innocently and ignored the threat.

"Well, now that everyone is getting along so well," the ex-captain continued happily, his face beaming with his smiling lips and teeth, "I think it's time I point out that this situation should not have petty fights brought to it or I'll be forced to do something drastic." All six eyes drifted to the blonde man as he grinned innocently, his threat not going unnoticed. In other words, "fix your attitudes so we can get down to business and stop wasting my time."

Ulquiorra sighed… again.

"Honestly?" he started with a shrug, his voice deadpan. "I do not know how I did it exactly; it was more of a progression than anything else. Just like any other kind of release, I had to train and somehow I managed to work my way up to it." Grimmjow and Ichigo stared down at the floor dejectedly.

"I figured it would be as much," Urahara confirmed, the smile finally dropping from his face. "Well you know what that means don't you?" He looked between Grimmjow and Ichigo who both gave him questioning looks in return. "It _means_ that the fastest way for either of you to reach a second release it to repeatedly train against one. Much like Chad had to train against a bankai to reach that level of power, you two must train against Ulquiorra in this case."

"As if he's going to do _that_," Grimmjow huffed, seeming depressed. The fourth turned to him then, a single black eyebrows raised.

"What are you talking about?" the green eyed man asked before looking back at Urahara. "I am more than happy to assist in this endeavor. In fact," had he been the type to smile, he would have exhibited the sweetest one possible at that very moment, but he wasn't, so he didn't, "why don't we start _right__now_?" Ichigo furrowed his brows as the fourth Espada stood, walked around them, and headed to the back of the store where he knew the door to the underground training facility was located. "I have a lot of pent of aggression that needs to be released," he stated as he vanished from their sight.

Ichigo's mouth fell open slightly, cocking his head to the side. "He's in a… really _good_ mood..." Grimmjow slowly started shaking his head as he stared after his brother, a tight grimace making its way onto his face.

"No…" he contradicted quietly. "He's in a really _bad_ mood…" Ichigo cast the blue haired teenager a curious eye. "Let's just say I might have… ruined his day…" the sixth affirmed. Ichigo nodded slowly, not quite understanding, but deciding that asking questions was probably _not_ a good idea.

Hopefully Inoue would show up later, he had a feeling the both of them would need her.

**oOo**

"Don't take your eyes off me!" he stated loudly and swung his sword down at her from above. She in turn whipped her dark eyes up to look at him. Seeing his long blade aimed at her head, she flashed away and he turned, following her as she jumped away from him, her eyes once again distracted.

He growled in irritation. They weren't accomplishing anything thanks to _those_ three throwing themselves about, growling and hissing all the time.

"Karin!" he snapped and she glanced at him once again. "Ignore them. Their training is vastly different from yours; you will learn nothing by watching them." He knew she knew that, yet her worried gaze continued to drift between the white haired captain that was supposed to be training her and her brother. He couldn't really blame her for being concerned, the orange haired shinigami-hybrid was indeed getting his ass kicked, but he'd be fine. Training was training, and she needed to focus on her own.

Though he did have to acknowledge that even he had been uneasy at first. To see Ulquiorra Cifer transform so rapidly and with such ease into the very monster they had fought the day before… it was a little disconcerting. Ichigo was revered and eyed with caution by most of Soul Society, yet now he wasn't the strongest anymore. How would the other shinigami take this news? And how would they feel if they knew that Ichigo was training to become even stronger than he already was, even stronger perhaps then the fourth Espada he fought currently? And that _Grimmjow_ of all people was as well?

The captain of the tenth squad wasn't even sure _how_ he was supposed to react. Honestly, he was somewhat concerned for his position _as_ a captain at this point. Sure it wasn't in his orders to report what he'd found out, these Espada weren't the direct reason for the disturbances in Karakura, but they were linked to it, as was Ichigo. Perhaps Urahara did have a plan, and maybe keeping these hollow-human-shinigami-hybrids as a mini army was a logical idea if the threat he talked about really did exist, but Soul Society would find out one way or another. And when they did they would not be happy that one of their own had gone along with the secret for so long. And that he had watched these individuals grow in strength as well? And had done nothing?

It was unacceptable.

Not only that, but Toshiro knew that as soon as Central Forty-six and the Head Captain found out about them, they'd want them brought in front of the courts for war crimes. Justice had to be upheld. But… well what was justice really? The young captain wasn't sure he knew anymore. This hollow family wasn't bad; they had been used by Aizen. They'd committed heinous crimes, things they couldn't be excused for, but he also knew they were trying just as hard as everyone else to forget about it.

The white haired shinigami had been backed into a corner, and now he had to get free, but he'd end up on someone's bad side no matter what he did. He was supposed to act in the name of justice, to protect the human race, but he wasn't sure what that meant anymore…

In any case, he had to figure it out soon, his report was due in three days.

"Oh _snap_!" Lilynette hooted from her spot seated on a high cliff above them. She was wide eyed, legs folded under her as she watched the training session between the three high schoolers. "And Ulquiorra lands a mean one to the left. Ichigo goes crashing to the ground!" She made an explosion noise to add dramatics as a cloud of dust rose behind Toshiro's head, no doubt where the orange haired shinigami had gone plummeting to Earth.

The white haired captain sighed. "We're never going to get anything done at this rate," he muttered in irritation. Every time he came to the human world, he somehow got wrapped up into some insane charade by one person or another. Rangiku looked at these trips as a vacation, he in turn dreaded them.

"_Ouch_!" Lilynette giggled and clapped her hands. "That had to hurt." Turning, the captain of the tenth squad just barely witnessed Grimmjow being thrown through a few rocks by his tail, his younger brother staring after with a bored expression from behind his tear-streaked cheeks. "Ulquiorra is kicking your asses!" the green haired hollow girl shouted and laughed again.

Grimmjow wasn't one to stay down for long though. Hissing and spitting, he soon catapulted himself from the rubble, his claws outstretched as he barreled towards his winged enemy. Apparently finding the whole thing rather tedious, Ulquiorra sighed and flashed out of sight. Coming at his blue haired brother from the side, the sixth just barely saw the blow before it was delivered. Clawed hand coming up, the fourth slapped Grimmjow across the ribs and sent him successfully flying across the training grounds.

"_Incoming_!" Lilynette shouted as she jumped to her feet. Eyes widening only slightly, Toshiro surged forward to grab Karin by the arm in an attempt to pull her out of the way, but he was too slow. Body breaking through rock, the blue haired missile soured past the group of adolescents and collided loudly with a nearby boulder. The force of the blow caused the stone to shatter, a fast moving dust cloud engulfing everyone nearby as the released force threw them to the ground.

Coughing as the dirt cloud started to dissipate; the white haired captain blinked and shook his head. Luckily he'd managed to grab Karin's wrist before the bits of boulder had impaled them. Using a quick spell to cast a shield, he'd successfully protected them both from the debris, though he hadn't been able to stop their collision with the ground below.

"To-Toshiro?" glancing down quickly, the captain spotted Karin on the ground beneath him, her dark hair splayed about her youthful face as she stared up at him with both a curious and horrified expression. He in turn furrowed his brows and her face flushed a deep crimson. And as he felt her wrist still held securely in his hand, as he registered that he was unintentionally pinning her to the dirt, he blushed as well.

How undignified.

"Uh," he went to stand, "Sor-"

"_What_," a shadow was suddenly cast over them. Whipping his head around quickly, the small captain spotted a pair of sharp horns protruding from a skull like mask, a black sword held tightly in the individuals hand as he hovered over them dangerously, "are you _doing_ to my _sister_?"

"Ichigo!" Karin squeaked. Scoffing in outrage, the white haired youth was immediately offended by what the orange haired shinigami was insinuating, and even more infuriated when the tall teenager reached down with his clawed hand as if to grab the captain, his _superior_, by the back of his cloak, apparently intent on hefting him from atop his little sister.

What insulting behavior.

"Focus Kurosaki," they all turned their heads to the voice as Ichigo froze in his attempt to save his sisters honor. With a black flash, they all watched as a pair of bat wings soured by them, a single furred arm reaching out and grabbing the orange haired shinigami by one of his horns. And with skilled accuracy, the bat-like demon tossed the orange haired teenager into the same boulder he'd recently deposited his own brother in.

Grimmjow had just been stumbling out of the rubble, ready for revenge, when, much to his shock, he saw long orange hair souring his way. Sighing in irritation, he waited only a moment before he was rewarded with a body slam from his rival, the two of them flying back into the rubble as rock bits were sent jumping in the air.

Somewhere in the sky, Lilynette was giggling hysterically… again.

"Alright, alright," a scolding feminine voice echoed above the battle, "that's enough, it's time you all… What are you doing to my daughter Captain Hitsugaya?" The white haired youth growled in irritation as the blonde woman crossed her arms under her breasts and stared suspiciously down at him.

"Nothing!" he stated sharply as he rolled off the dark haired girl. "Absolutely nothing," he mumbled in irritated and shook his head as he stared down at the ground in embarrassment. Karin leaned up next to him, and together the two remained silent as they sat in the dirt.

Harribel stared at them a moment longer before turning her green eyes once again to the three teenagers causing the ruckus.

"Anyway, as I was saying," she started over to Ulquiorra who had lowered himself to the ground and was watching his mother hen as she stepped over rocks, her skirt held in her hand as she made her way over to them, "you all need to stop messing around." Stumbling slightly, she just managed to catch her balance as she stood up straight on a rounded slab of stone. "You all have a lot of work to do and I was nice enough to go to all your teachers on Friday and get your homework."

"How _generous_ of you," Grimmjow coughed sarcastically as he tried for the second time to reemerge from the rubble. He was bloodied and beaten, a sad sight really. And as Ichigo came up behind him, the orange haired individual appeared in much the same state. Unfortunately for them, Ulquiorra didn't appear to have a scratch on him.

"I know, wasn't it?" she replied tartly with a smile. "So let's go. The girls are back and Orihime is waiting oh so patiently to heal your wounds." The blonde woman didn't appear pleased at this, apparently she didn't approve of their training. But what mother would when two thirds of her sons appeared on the verge of collapse afterwards?

"Gah," Grimmjow hacked again, "you want us to walk all the way over there? Why can't Pet come over here?" Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at his older brother. His Woman wasn't their slave, she didn't even _have_ to heal them to begin with. Well if they didn't want to walk, he'd fix their problem.

Flapping his wings once, he jumped into the air.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Ichigo asked through his mask as the green eyed Espada landed once again between the two rivals. Grabbing the orange haired one by the horn and the blue haired one by the tail, he turned swiftly and, without giving either enough time to ask another question, thrust them once again into the air.

There, now they weren't walking.

"You're enjoying this _way_ too much," Harribel commented, unenthused, as she crossed her arms under her breasts again.

"I know," the fourth replied monotonously, his eyes empty. He'd been enjoying many things recently, aside from that episode with his hollow, and it was taking a toll on his health. He was certainly more tired than usual. Perhaps he should cut back a little?

Nope, that meant not seeing his Woman and that was completely and utterly out of the question.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated all his reiatsu into a single force and within seconds all his power had once again been condensed into a single silver blade, his fur and wings replaced with a black kimono, his hollow hole filling in as if it had never been there.

Sheathing his zanpakuto, he flashed past his blonde guardian and reached the area where the women were waiting just in time to see both Ichigo and Grimmjow slide across the dirt in front of them, much to the girls yelping surprise. The fourth hadn't used nearly the force to toss them as he had before, and one recovered quickly. Hissing, Grimmjow was about to jump his younger brother, but as he vaulted forward, his face collided with an orange shield and he fell flat on his back.

"Oh, woops!" Orihime tensed as her face formed an apologetic grimace. "I didn't know you were going to do that Grimmjow, I wouldn't have started healing you guys otherwise." Being unconscious on the ground within the shield, the blue haired individual didn't hear her apology. Ichigo, who was also inside the orange dome, hadn't even risen to his feet. He lay still, conscious, but apparently too exhausted to care about revenge.

"You're looking smug," Tatsuki commented as she crossed her arms over her chest, her brown eyes staring Ulquiorra up and down before she glanced at her own boyfriend. The fourth didn't reply though he wasn't quite sure what she meant by smug. He was pretty positive that his face exhibited the utter definition of indifference.

His Woman frowned at him.

"I wanted to see you all batty," she pouted and he narrowed his eyes at her ever so slightly. Why in the world would she want to see him in his release form? He'd gone back to a shinigami for the sheer purpose of helping her avoid that. It couldn't possibly bring back good memories for her.

"Batty?" Rukia raised a single eyebrow. "I don't think that's the term you're looking for Orihime…" The redhead appeared thoughtful for a moment before shrugging and hopping her way over to Ulquiorra.

"In any case," she hummed happily, "it's nice seeing you looking like yourself, brings back memories." Again, he couldn't fathom that they were the good kind. But she was a little strange he supposed. "Though those tears are a little depressing," reaching up she ran her thumbs down his cheeks. He tightened his frown at her, his single black lip becoming thinner as his dark nailed fingers tightened around his zanpakuto.

Appearing suddenly thoughtful, her eyes drifted from his face to his chest.

"Do you still have that 4 too?" Not waiting for an answer, she started to peel away the top part of his kimono. Grabbing her by the wrist, he stared down at her disapprovingly and she in turn looked confused.

"Yes, it is still there," he confirmed simply as he forced her hand back to her side. She couldn't start touching him like that. Sure he'd released a lot of aggression that day, but there were still plenty of other things he'd been prevented from letting go, and she was not making it any easier to control by running her soft fingers across his bare skin.

"Stop touching each other," Lilynette came up on the group, her tongue stuck out as she glanced at her green eyed brother and his girlfriend. "Get a room or something." Orihime blushed at that comment and took a step away from her boyfriend. He frowned in turn. Just because she needed to stop touching him didn't mean she needed to leave the vicinity.

"We're not staying long, don't worry Lilynette," Tatsuki stated as she crossed her arms over her chest. "We're only here so Orihime can reject anyone's injuries." The karate champion glanced at her own significant other before frowning. "We're leaving after that." Ulquiorra cast the redheaded topic of discussion a curious look. She in turn beamed up at him, her smiling face seeming excited.

"We're all heading over to my apartment after we leave here," she giggled happily, "for an all girls sleepover." The fourth took note of the specified "all girls" and frowned more severely, but he supposed his woman wanted time with her friends. Still, he'd been dissatisfied all day…

"Sleepover?" Lilynette stared up at the girls, her head cocked to the side curiously. It was obvious by the way her eyes darted between all of them that she was waiting for something. The three older women seemed to realize this as well as they sent some silent message across the clearing at each other.

"Um," Orihime bit her bottom lip as she considered her predicament. Lilynette wasn't that much younger than them really, as far as human standards were concerned. And she wasn't a child anymore per say so it would be alright to invite her, if only to humor the little hollow girl. But if they did that then Karin and Yuzu would need to be invited as well. And odds were the oldest of the six would end up talking about three little girls' older brothers which could turn things awkward.

But she looked so hopeful…

"You can come too if you want," Orihime finally decided with a laugh and Lilynette's face burst into a wide smile. Rukia and Tatsuki just shrugged in response. "And Karin and Yuzu can come too if they want." Ulquiorra raised a single eyebrow at his girlfriend and she shrugged. He couldn't imagine any of the girls wanted three thirteen year olds hanging around with them. But that was Orihime he supposed, unable to say no.

"Really?" his little sister was obviously excited and the fourth watched as she stared between the three older girls. He didn't quite understand the thrill of it, but then again he wasn't one to claim any understanding of the female gender, no matter their age. "I'll go tell Karin!"  
And with that she flashed away from them.

"Babysitters tonight aye?" Grimmjow asked as he sat up inside the shield, a stupid grin on his face. Tatsuki glared at him.

**oOo**

"I am sorry you guys," Orihime sighed dejectedly as she pulled a potato chip bag open. Rukia and Tatsuki stood in her kitchen in their pajamas as they listened to the younger girls chatting in the other room. "She just looked so hopeful, and she's Ulquiorra and Grimmjow's little sister…"

"It's not a big deal," Rukia assured with a light smile as she pulled a package of popcorn out of the microwave. "I know Karin and Yuzu really well anyway; it'll be fun, even if we can't talk about the gory details of our relationships until they fall asleep." The redhead smiled gratefully at her shorter shinigami friend. "Besides," the Kuchiki continued, "I don't blame them for wanting to hang out with us. We are, after all, the significant others of their older brothers, whom they all look up to very much."

"Which is something I find quite astounding," Tatsuki interjected as she spread some cookies out on a paper plate. "I don't quite understand what Lilynette sees is so amazing about Grimmjow." Orihime and Rukia glanced at each other, the same thought running through their minds. Apparently _Tatsuki_ found something appealing about him, so why shouldn't his little sister?

"You know, it's kind of weird though," Rukia was thoughtful as she buttered and salted the popcorn. "If you think about it, now that we know who Harribel really is, it's almost like… like Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra are all brothers now." The other two were silent as they contemplated the thought as well.

"That's kind of ironic really," Orihime stated after the short pause. "I mean, considering how much each of them all hated each other. I'm pretty sure that at one point, they all mutually despised each other equally."

"Well fate is kind of funny like that," Tatsuki decided as if that settled the whole thing.

"Fate?" Rukia seemed incredulous. "I don't know that I believe that." She shook her head and this time it was Orihime and Tatsuki's turn to give each other amused glances. "I prefer to think I have complete control over my own destiny."

"I dunno," Orihime replied. "A lot has happened that just feels… feels like it was meant to be, you know what I mean?"

"That's a little deep for High School relationships, don't you think?" Tatsuki asked.

"That's where you're wrong though," the redhead stated quietly. "Sure we're in High School, but, at the end of the day, that has absolutely no bearing on what brought us together. High School seems like a pretty juvenile way of describing anything in our lives anymore." Rukia had to agree, seeing as she wasn't actually a student to begin with, and Tatsuki was the only one of the three feeling somewhat left out.

Well she was included in their otherworldly life _now_, so perhaps she'd comprehend what he friend meant sooner or later.

"Do you guys need help?" Yuzu poked her blonde head into the kitchen and the three older women turned to her. She looked slightly uncomfortable, which was reasonable they supposed. She wasn't as outgoing as Lilynette and Karin so being in Orihime's apartment was probably a little odd.

"Nope," Rukia assured with a smile. "We were just finishing up actually." Grabbing the snacks they had been preparing, the three strolled out of the kitchen after Yuzu who had pranced back over to the other two. They were all sitting at the small coffee table situated in the center of the sofas in the living room.

Setting the stuffs on the table, the three older women sat down and watched as the giggling younger girls snatched at the food momentarily.

"So," Lilynette turned to their older counterparts, a mischievous glint in her eyes and Karin laughed next to her.

"So?" Tatsuki asked in response as a smile crawled its way onto her face. It was a little awkward, but as Yuzu and Karin giggled again, it was realized that the discomfort wasn't so much a bad thing as a conversation starter.

"So Karin," Rukia's sharp voice drew all their attention. "Here we are, and now I'm going to ask you a question and I expect an honest answer." The new shinigami's face dropped. "This all stays between us girls, I promise." Yuzu and Lilynette stared at their uneasy counterpart. "What, exactly, is going between you and a certain captain of the Fourteen Court Guard Squads?"

Karin gaped and Lilynette started laughed uncontrollably. Yuzu in turn blushed for her twin. And like the adults they were supposed to be, the other three women settled on devious smiles.

"Wh-what?" Karin choked as a blush enveloped her face. "Between me and Toshiro? N-nothing!" Lilynette rolled her eyes and snorted, and her best friend smacked her on the arm. Rukia seemed skeptical. Yuzu in turn was very interested in the whole thing. Her twin wasn't one for boys usually. "He's like… a hundred years old…"

Rukia frowned, seeming far from happy about that comment, and Tatsuki and Orihime laughed shortly.

"So what?" the short shinigami argued as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Ichigo and I have managed to put our age difference aside. Besides, now that you're a shinigami, you'll age at the same pace he does." Karin blushed more severely and the smile returned to Rukia's face.

"That's… different…" she argued lamely and Lilynette giggled again. "I mean, you and Ichigo were like… always… you know…" No, the short women didn't know, and she raised her eyebrows to state as much. "Everyone always… expected that you two would… get together… in the end…" The dark eyed shinigami gaped.

"What does that mean?" she asked shortly and it was now Karin's turn to giggle despite her embarrassment.

"It means," Tatsuki interjected, "that from the day you entered Ichigo Kurosaki's life, the whole world expected you to get together, get married, have lots babies, and live happily ever after." Rukia blanched, her face turning scarlet as she stared at the Karate Champion with wide eyes. The three younger girls, as well as Orihime, started giggling uncontrollably.

"That's…" Rukia snapped her mouth shut, composing herself. "Well whatever," her face was still red. "None of that is even anywhere close to the probable future, I assure you." Karin and Yuzu stopped laughing and frowned.

"What?" Yuzu seemed suddenly dejected. "But… but you and Ichigo… you are going to get married someday right?" A silence fell on the room momentarily as Rukia gaped again before Tatsuki and Orihime burst out laughing. And it wasn't the innocent giggling from before. No, they were laughing to the point of tears as Rukia stared down at the younger girls like a fish out of water.

"I, uh…" the petite shinigami was completely dumbfounded by the turn the conversation had taken. Her mind couldn't fully comprehend what was going on. Marriage? To Ichigo? They hadn't even had sex yet! He could barley kiss her without blushing as it was! "I just… I don't… know…?"

"You don't know?" Karin had composed herself again and was staring at her brother's girlfriend with a cocked brow. She then cast her twin sister a skeptical stare and the blonde furrowed her brows.

"Of course you know," Yuzu decided with a huff. "You love him don't you?" Rukia didn't reply and she was greeted by gapes coming from the twins. "You don't love him?" How had this conversation reached this point again? "Well," Yuzu shook her head in disappointment, "that's pretty ungrateful if you ask me." Karin and Lilynette nodded. "I mean, he _only_ charged into Soul Society to save your life." The short woman couldn't believe them! Were they guilting her into loving Ichigo?

"He went to Hueco Mundo to save Orihime," she argued and Karin rolled her eyes.

"That's different," the dark haired Kurosaki stated as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That was a matter of war. Ichigo almost _started_ a war over _you_. Trust me, I know the story." The young girl was suddenly all knowing. "Orihime was kidnapped and in need of a rescuer. _You_ went home willingly after breaking my brother's heart and he _still_ came after you."

"We know the whole story," Yuzu continued. "We talk to Renji about it all the time."

"Renji!" Rukia hissed as Tatsuki and Orihime continued to laugh. "I swear, when I get my hands on him…"

"Don't hurt him!" Yuzu exclaimed, suddenly upset, and Karin grinned devilishly at her twin who covered her mouth and blushed. Laugher ceased then and the dark haired Kurosaki continued to taunt her sister with her dark, knowing eyes.

"Why not?" Rukia asked curiously and Yuzu looked like she was going to die of embarrassment.

"Because," Karin bit her bottom lip and smiled to the point of her lips reaching her eyes. Her twin on the other hand was begging her to keep quiet, yet failing. "Yuzu thinks Renji is-"

"Karin, _don't_," she hissed.

"-a babe." Lilynette's jaw dropped before she burst out into laughter. Rukia was slightly taken aback by this, but soon an innocent, understanding smile stretched onto her lips.

"I don't like him!" The little blonde girl pouted. "He's way older than me…" She started to mumble. "Besides, I only like his hair…" Karin rolled her eyes.

"Then why don't you stop being infatuated with Renji and think about, hmm, Jinta instead." Yuzu's lips curled in disgust as the sisters continued to argue back and forth. The others were content with watching the exchange in amusement.

"Jinta?" the blonde shook her head. "He's shorter than I am, and annoying too. I'd never like him." Karin shook her head and sighed, apparently deeming her sister a lost cause. "And he's always bossing me around every time I come to see you, and he's mean to Ururu, and he's got a fowl mouth too."

"You like him," Lilynette countered and Yuzu looked victimized. "You have a thing for redheads." Apparently finding nothing to counter said point, Yuzu remained silent and stared at the floor.

"Well who do you like Lilynette?" Karin asked curiously and the grin immediately dropped from the pinked eyed girls face. "I ask you all the time and you never tell me." Now that all the attention was on her, the hollow girl was suddenly very void of laughter and had paled considerably.

"I don't like anybody," she stated a little too quickly. No one was buying it however and Lilynette sensed as much as she was once again trying to wiggle her way out of the question. "I don't…" she didn't sound at all convincing and instead she sighed. "I can't tell you… who I like…" Everyone frowned as she fiddled with the carpet.

"Why not?" Karin asked curiously.

"I just can't, okay? So drop it!" No one missed how distressed the little girl was and as a few worried glances were thrown around the room, the group decided it was probably best to do as she commanded.

"I don't think you have any right to pry into her crushes if you won't even admit to yours," Tatsuki stated and Karin furrowed her brows. "Until you can admit to us that you like Toshiro then you don't need to know who Lilynette likes either."

"I don't like him!" the dark haired twin exclaimed and the rest of the room laughed.

**oOo**

Orihime frowned. Why wasn't she watching the movie with everyone else? The redhead had only gone into her room for a few minutes to grab a blanket while Rukia and Tatsuki popped in a movie for the three younger girls, but Lilynette was sitting at the dining room table across the room seeming somewhat unhappy.

Placing the blanket on the table, the older teenager sat down next to her and waited. The hollow girl in turn glanced up at her, seeming helpless. Orihime had an idea about why she was upset, she hadn't been acting as upbeat since her own crush had been brought up, and hopefully the redhead would be of some assistance.

"Why can't you tell Karin who you like?" she asked quietly so as to make sure no one else would overhear them. The green haired adolescent glanced across the room at her best friend who was staring back with furrowed brows, but apparently getting the message that Lilynette didn't want to talk to her. "Is it because… _you_ like Toshiro too?"

Whipping her head around, the green haired girl scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"What? No," she replied and Orihime shrugged, waiting. Sighing, Lilynette stared at her, seeming defeated. "It doesn't matter," she was quiet, sad. "He has a girlfriend." Orihime frowned, that was always the worst. "I was thinking about talking to Harribel about it, but… that would be kind of weird now… I think…"

"Why's that?" the redhead asked and cocked her head to the side. "You can tell me, I promise I'll keep it a secret." Lilynette smiled up at her thankfully, seeming to grow in confidence. Orihime on the other hand was very curious. If it was awkward to talk to Harribel about it then that meant it was someone… within her family, right? That would probably sound utterly disgusting to most, but seeing as none of them were _actually_ related…

Grimmjow maybe? If it was Ulquiorra then the redhead couldn't imagine the young girl would feel comfortable talking about it with his girlfriend.

"I mean, I know I don't stand a chance and I know I'll get over it, he probably barely knows I exist anyway…" Okay, so Grimmjow was out of the question. "I didn't want to like him, actually I kind of thought I hated him until recently, but you guys said it yourselves, he's… in love with someone else…besides, he's like my brother now…" Orihime's shoulders dropped and she sighed.

"Ichigo?" she asked and the little girl blushed. That made sense. It explained why she was uncomfortable telling Karin and why telling Harribel would be… uncomfortable, though it was a little unexpected. "Well I'm not going to lie," the redhead continued. "He is pretty much head over heels for Rukia," the little girl sighed. "But it'll be okay," she smiled lightly and placed a reassuring hand on the younger girls shoulder. "I've been there and you'll find someone better." Pink eyes met silver and Lilynette cocked her head to the side curiously.

"It's true," Orihime continued. "I thought I… _liked_ Ichigo for a really long time, but," she shrugged, "he's in love with Rukia, so I had to move on. I just kept telling myself that there were more fish in the sea and, low and behold, I found someone else." Lilynette giggled.

"My brother?" she asked with a smile and Orihime nodded. "Do you… do you _love_ him?" Slightly taken aback by the question, the redhead considered it only momentarily before deciding on an answer.

"Yes, I do," she confessed with a wider smile and Lilynette seemed overjoyed with the news.

"I'm really glad," the green haired junior high student seemed relieved, "because it's been obvious to everyone for a while that he's, like, obsessed with you." The little girl rolled her eyes and Orihime laughed. "He loves you too, you know. I mean, I'm only saying this because I know he's really stupid sometimes about telling people stuff, so just in case he hasn't told you… he does…"

"I know," Orihime replied softly.

"So…" Lilynette stared at the table uncomfortably. "I, uh, don't know a whole lot about… relationships or… anything, being a hollow and all…" Her cheeks flushed a slight pink and Orihime furrowed her brows. "But are you and Ulquiorra going to, like, be together… forever?" The redhead blinked, not sure what to say. "I mean, I don't have a problem with that," she was apparently reading Orihime's surprise incorrectly. "I like you is all, and… I like my family too, so if it got bigger someday then…" She shrugged and Orihime smile again, her shock quickly evaporating.

"I think your family has gotten big enough for now," the redhead assured and Lilynette laughed. "Don't worry about me and Ulquiorra, we're too young to be thinking about stuff like that anyway, and so are you." The younger shrugged and grinned again.

"You're really smart Orihime," she decided as she stood from the chair. "Thanks. Ulquiorra would be an idiot if he dumped you."

"I agree," the redhead laughed and stood as well, and together they entered the group once again.

**oOo**

"Gah, this is so fuckin' stupid," the blue haired teenager swore for the billionth time from his spot seated on his bed. Ulquiorra didn't reply, just continued to stare down at his textbook, his elbows supporting him on the floor as he stretched his stomach across the blue carpet.

"Will you stop complaining, you're pissing me off," Ichigo stated, his patience waning thin from his seat at Grimmjow's desk. "Hearing your voice every five seconds is what is making this all so difficult." The sixth glared at the orange haired shinigami, about to rebuke, but was interrupted.

"I don't know what you guys are whining about," Renji stretched his arms above his head as he sank back on the couch against the wall. All the others in the room glanced up at him, even Ulquiorra, in slight disgust. Unlike the rest of them, the lieutenant didn't have to do any of his homework seeing as his grades didn't _actually_ make a difference. The rest of them didn't have that luxury.

"I'm so done with this shit," Grimmjow decided. "We been at it for three hours, that's enough for one night." Slamming his books closed, he shoved them off the bed and they fell to the ground with muffled thumps. Ichigo stared at his rival momentarily before deciding to agree with him and putting his own homework away.

Ulquiorra ignored them silently. He'd honestly stopped reading ages ago; his mind elsewhere as he'd stared at the book, remaining on the same page for the last half hour. He wasn't as adamant as the rest of them, but after a few seconds, he too quietly closed the book and sat up.

All of them silent momentarily, Grimmjow's bedroom offered some entertainment, but not enough to distract them forever.

"What do you think they're talking about over there?" Ichigo asked, his eyes focused on the ceiling, somewhat dazed. Grimmjow scoffed in reply, apparently finding the question absurd.

"Us of course," he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Ulquiorra glanced up at his older brother, his eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the thought. Would his Woman be gossiping about him with her friends? What would she tell them? He was suddenly very uncomfortable.

"What would they be talking about?" Ichigo asked as he leaned forward once again, his brown eyes curious. Grimmjow shrugged and suddenly they were all focused on Renji as the lieutenant laughed.

"You sound like you're paranoid," he stated and Ichigo's lips tightened in annoyance. "Wondering what girls talk about with each other is something not worth thinking about." He received a few curious looks. "It's not worth it because you're never going to know. Whatever they confide to each other is locked up tight. They'll never tell. It's like the female code or something."

Grimmjow frowned. "Well they don't know what we talk about either, so…" Ichigo caught Ulquiorra's eye. Unlike Grimmjow, they were both fully aware that if their girlfriends pestered them enough, they'd spill the beans. Not that they ever talked about anything of much interest anyway. Sports were a more common subject, but their women didn't care about that. Tatsuki might, but she was Grimmjow's problem.

"We don't talk about anything they want to know about," Renji stated his counterpart's thoughts. "They say they don't understand us, but that's because they expect us to be way deeper and more complicated than we actually are."

"Tell me about it," Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "I don't know what Tatsuki expects me to say when she asks me what I'm thinking about, but whatever reason I give never seems good enough." Ulquiorra wasn't sure whose fault that one was. He could see Grimmjow's side, yet at the same time what ran through his older brothers head might be slightly disturbing to his girlfriend as well.

"Rukia never asks what I'm thinking," Ichigo sighed. "She always seems to know, which I guess makes my life easier in the end."

"That's because Rukia's smart," Renji stated. "She's experienced enough to know by now that men are never as complicated as women want them to be. She doesn't hold her breath for anything better." Ichigo frowned, what was that supposed to mean?

"My Woman generally reads my thoughts as well," Ulquiorra started. "Though the only time she cannot seem to figure it out is when her own insecurities are plaguing her, as if I am honestly going to judge her appearance with magnified glass," he shook his head in annoyance.

"Yeah, what the hell is that about?" Grimmjow sounded irritated. "Tatsuki is probably the fittest girl in the entire school, yet she still on occasion gets all sad and asks me if she's gained weight. I'm like, no, and even if you did I wouldn't really care." Ichigo furrowed his brows.

"Tatsuki asks you stuff like that?" the orange haired shinigami seemed slightly taken aback. "Well I guess even she's not confident about everything, but… it's still weird that you two are together." Grimmjow glared at his rival, but said nothing.

"Why are women so obsessed with their appearance?" Ulquiorra asked, his frown deepening. "I mean, I do not know how many times we have been messing around and she will suddenly get extremely insecure and ask stupid questions, like if she looks disgusting from a certain angle." He fourth furrowed his brows in irritation. "Honestly, that is the last thing on my mind."

"What's the first thing on your mind?" Grimmjow asked with a sadistic grin.

"Usually her breasts," the fourth replied monotonously.

"Wait…" Ichigo stared at them all for a second, a light redness rising to his cheeks. "How… far have you, ya know, gone… with Tatsuki and Inoue?" Grimmjow and Ulquiorra cast each other confused looks. "You know, how many bases have you hit?" Renji laughed, he'd stay out of this one. It was times like this that he was reminded of just how much older than Ichigo he really was.

Grimmjow smirked. "Fuckberry, I hit home a while ago," Ichigo gaped, "and I know that, based on Ulqui-emo's reaction to me dragging him out of Pets apartment this morning, he probably has too." Ichigo appeared even more shocked.

"With Tatsuki and… Inoue?"

"Who else?" Grimmjow laughed. "You… really are a virgin… aren't you?" The orange haired shinigami flushed. He wanted to say something in his defense, but alas he found nothing. "That's so fuckin' hilarious to me," the sixth stated and Renji laughed.

"Shut up," the strawberry commanded quietly.

"What I find funny," Renji addressed the younger shinigami, "is that the problem is _you_, not Rukia." If looks could kill, the lieutenant would be long gone for Ichigo was glaring most fiercely at him. "I've known her almost our entire lives, I know her past with men, and I know she's not shy, so… what's the deal Ichigo?"

The addressed sigh, "I don't know." Grimmjow laughed shortly and the orange haired teenager felt even more humiliated. "I guess I just don't want to screw things up." That comment sobered the sixth up immediately. Face dropping, his gaze fell to his sheets guiltily. Luckily for him, Ulquiorra was the only one who noticed.

"I don't think it would screw anything up," Renji stated. "Honestly? I'm pretty sure nothing you do short of breaking her heart would screw things up. She hasn't been in a relationship in a while, and the only other person I've _ever_ seen her look at the way she looks at you is Kaien Shiba, so don't worry about it." The older shinigami shrugged. "She fell in love with you a long time ago."

Ichigo blushed once again.

"This conversation is making me depressed," Ulquiorra sighed.

"Why's that?" Grimmjow asked.

"Because," he replied, his voice irritated, "it is reminding me of the fact that, had it not been for you two," he glanced pointedly and Ichigo and Grimmjow, "I could be alone with my Woman in her apartment right now."

"Oh bitch some more," the sixth rolled his eyes. "I'm tired of talking about this," the others nodded in agreement. "Anyone up for some Tekken?" Renji and Ichigo nodded and Ulquiorra shrugged. Standing, the four made their way downstairs, fully intent on occupying the couch and its large screen television.

**oOo**

"I can't believe how fast they fell asleep," Tatsuki stated as she sat herself down on Orihime's bed. The redhead was already leaning against the headboard and Rukia was lying on her stomach at the end of the mattress. "I mean I always stayed up way past midnight when I'd go to sleepovers or whatever."

"Yeah, but Karin was training today," Rukia argued. "And I'm sure this last week has been stressful for them." The other two nodded, seeing her points, before they fell silent. It was only a momentary pause however before Tatsuki turned to Orihime. "So, tell me," the redhead raised her eyebrows, "were we right in assuming all Espada would be good in the sack?" The princess gaped, her face flushing pink.

"Um, well, what… exactly do you mean?" Both the dark haired females glanced at each other before focusing on their red haired counterpart, their eyebrows raised. She knew what they wanted to know, she was just trying to avoid the question. Orihime sighed. "Well it was… nice," Rukia furrowed her eyebrows.

"Nice?" Tatsuki asked. "Are you sure you're describing sex? Because if it was just 'nice' then… you two better practice. I mean, Grimmjow and I haven't been together very long, but that's the last word I'd use to describe what we do together."

"I don't know what to say about it!" the blushing princess exclaimed. "What do you want, a step by step description?" Rukia and Tatsuki sighed. "I mean, it was my first time, I don't even know what to compare it to…"

"How long did he go for?" Rukia inquired. The redhead seemed thoughtful before her face dropped, her eyes confused.

"Well… I don't know, I wasn't really… thinking about that when we were, you know…" Both her friends appeared exasperated, but she didn't know what they wanted from her. They asked how long he lasted, but did that mean… she didn't even know…

"How many times did you do it?" the short shinigami asked shortly.

"Well… just once I guess… we were pretty tired…"

"Okay," Rukia closed her eyes before asking her next question. "How many times did you… 'reach ecstasy?'" She made quotes with her fingers and Orihime blushed even more, her face a deep, deep red at this point.

"Well… I guess…" she pouted. "I don't know! These questions are really embarrassing…" The two other women sighed again. "I mean, it's not like I kept track or something. It just… happened. We didn't even get to the bed." Rukia cocked an eyebrow and Orihime stared at the bed sheets, almost appearing ashamed. "We did it on the floor," she muttered.

"Wow," Tatsuki was being sarcastic, "you're a wild woman Orihime." The redhead frowned, she didn't enjoy being mocked. "Seriously, we he good or not, you have to know. I mean, you'd be disappointed if he was bad. The only guy I've ever been with is Grimmjow, but I _know_ I'm getting what I want. I get it was your first time, but you have to have _some_ idea."

"Well I don't know how I could have been disappointed as I'd never even done it before, but I guess… I guess it was… well I wouldn't mind doing it again…" They waited, again, for her to elaborate. "Okay, that was a lie, I definitely want to do it again." She took a deep breath and Tatsuki nodded, asking her to go on. "I mean, I kind of knew what was going to happen, but he was so… caring about everything, but at the same time he was… kind of wild."

"Okay," Rukia decided. "Sounds like things went well." Apparently the two of them were somewhat satisfied and the group fell silent. Yet despite the lightness of the mood, Orihime felt a weight suddenly settle into her stomach as a thought that had crossed her mind multiple times that day once again entered her brain.

"You know," she started and the two dark haired women glanced at her, "I was kind of glad that Ulquiorra got his hollow powers back again, relieved really, but… how long will it be until Soul Society finds out?" Rukia's eyes fell to the bed. "When they were just humans, they weren't a threat and I had hoped that maybe the shinigami would just leave them alone, but now…"

"I don't… I don't know Orihime," Rukia replied. "They've become so integrated into our lives now, I suppose should their existence come to light, I'd vouch for them, but I don't know how much my say will count. Renji will hold more ground, and perhaps if the two captains that are here…" She shook her head.

"I hadn't even thought about that," Tatsuki whispered. "They're not out for blood now though, so… that should count for something, right?" For the first time since she'd gotten together with Grimmjow, the karate champion realized just how fragile his existence was. He was so strong on the outside, but against all of Soul Society?

They wouldn't stand a chance.

"They have war crimes stacked up against them though," the petite shinigami argued and anger filled Tatsuki as she continued to mull over the situation. "But everything is so different now, it almost seems irrelevant." The short woman laughed cynically. "Or maybe I've been spending too much time here. I keep forgetting that I don't live here, and once Soul Society finds out I'm more than friends with Ichigo… well it might not bode well."

"I feel almost like… like all the worlds have somehow crisscrossed each other," Orihime whispered. "Hollows with humans, humans with shinigami, shinigami with hollows. Everything is so twisted together now, I don't know what's right and wrong, and the war seems completely and utterly irrelevant now."

"To us, maybe, but many died because of Aizen and his Espada…"

"And Many Espada died because of the shinigami," Orihime pointed out quickly. "I know they attacked us first, but after everything we've learned, I wish that… that we could just get over this whole rift. I wish people would just forget about it."

"They won't," Rukia added. "To them, a lot of what has happened here is going to look disgusting." Orihime flinched. "A shinigami and human together is bad enough, but like you two with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra… it's going to be blasphemous to many. It won't matter that they became humans. The fact that they were hollow, use hollow powers, it will be enough for them to label us all traitors."

"Traitors?" Tatsuki narrowed her eyes. "Okay, I'm kind of following, but how would you be a traitor in all this? I mean, so you're with Ichigo, but he's on the shinigami's side, so that's not really treacherous."

"Once they realize that Ichigo is the same as that hollow family," she shook her head, "they'll lump him together with them. But," she shrugged, "I think that even if they were to single him out, he'd still side with them. After everything that has happened with his mother… he'd join them if it came to something as dire as picking sides." Orihime gulped as she stared at her petite friend.

"What about you Rukia?" the redhead asked quietly. "What side are you on?"

The dark haired shinigami didn't answer.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooo **

Gah, sorry that took so long, had a terrible time getting that one out. Not sure why, but I couldn't seem to figure out the last ten pages until tonight, and even then it was hard. In any case, after the drama of the last few chapters, I tried to return our characters to their high school lives, if only for a little while, before the next action arc begins.

The first part was the easiest to write, mostly because, for whatever reason, I always find it easy to put Ulquiorra in situations where he gets tortured, LOL! Poor guy. In any case, he didn't get any, but he will, just wait. Probably next chapter, lol.

I love Ulquiorra acting somewhat… boyishly too. I feel like in a lot of stories he's always singled out as being extremely different than everyone else, and he kind of is really, but giving him qualities that fall into general male stereotypes makes him much more relatable I think, and it makes him relatable to other characters in the story as well. Like his comment about always being focused on Orihime's breasts, it's so funny to think of him that way, but at the same time it makes him more human. I dunno, his character is fun to develop.

Those poor boys, they'll never understand that women really aren't as complicated as they think either. I tried to give them all a familyish feel as well, seeing as Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Ichigo will be sharing parents, and as Renji is kind of like a resident of the Kurosaki household, so that was why they were all hanging out in Grimmjow's room.

Poor Lilynette. Oh well, she'll get over it, none of those crushes are meant to be taken seriously. Again, it was just a random look at some of the dynamics between characters. I thought it was interesting, hopefully you did too.

Phew, and Toshiro is getting anxious, as are our three girls at the end. For being such an upbeat chapter, the end was a little foreboding, no? What could possibly happen…?

I know, not the best chapter, but things are winding back up after all that hollow business. Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter.

Love and… stuff… lol… so tired…

Toodles!

R&R PLEASE! I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK TO BE MOTIVATED! IT HELPS, I PROMISE!


	24. Leaving Home Behind

**The Definition of Love**

_"What about the **world today**_  
_ What about the place that we **call home**_  
_ We've never been **so many**_  
_ And we've never been **so alone**_

_ You keep **watching **from your **picket fence**_  
_ You keep **talking **but it makes no **sense**_  
_ You say we're not **responsible**_  
_ But we are, **we are**_  
_ You **wash **your **hands **and come out **clean**_  
_ Fail to recognise the **enemies within**_  
_ You say we're not **responsible**_  
_ But we are, we are, we are, **we are**_

_ One step **forward **making **two steps back** _  
_ Riding **piggy **on the **bad boys back** for life_  
_ Lining up for the **grand illusion**_  
_ No **answers **for no questions **asked**_  
_ Lining up for the **execution**_  
_** Without knowing why**"_

**_We Are - Ana Johnsson_**

**Chapter 24: Leaving Home Behind **

"Do you think this is true?" The white haired captain raised the parchment to his eyes once again, his brows furrowed in concern and astonishment. "It all seems so unbelievable to me, that such a thing could even be possible." The man beside him sighed, thoughtful, as his pink robe fell sloppily over his shoulders.

"I don't know Jushiro," the other captain replied gruffly. "If it is true then we have bigger problems than just them. There's no way the shinigami stationed in Karakura failed to notice them. Two captains are there, and that means they've been neglecting to tell us of this development."

"Which is why I have to wonder if it's even true at all!" the white haired man exclaimed as he dropped the paper to the table between them. His brown eyes were swimming with distress. "I can't imagine that all the shinigami there would be so willing to keep this a secret, especially Captain Hitsugaya."

"Worst case scenario though and it is true," the brunette argued, "then we have a very serious problem. Many would see keeping such information from the Court Guard Squads as treacherous and neglectful, let alone dangerous. Both those young captains risked losing their positions if it is true and they went along with it."

"I know," the tired captain shook his head. "Captain Madarame doesn't care about his position, but Captain Hitsugaya… if this is true then he must have had a viable reason for doing what he's done. And it's my failure to find this reason that has me doubting this news to even be true. Where did you get this Shunsui?" He was motioning to the piece of parchment on the table.

"Some of my scouts said they encountered a hollow that had gone to the world of the living and found them. My staff wrote the report themselves after the monster blabbed about it. Unfortunately, it then disappeared. He said it appeared to come for the sole purpose of delivering this message before vanishing back into Hueco Mundo. Odd behavior for a hollow."

"Odd indeed," the thirteenth captain muttered.

"Sounds like you all are talking about something very interesting." Glancing up, the two older captains frowned at the man who stood before them, effectively blocking out the sunlight filtering through the door. He smiled, as always, his fox like features all the more pronounced by his knowing grin. His silver hair was flat against his skull and his captain's cloak shivered in the light breeze.

"Captain Ichimaru," he was greeted by both of the sitting men, their faces guarded against the thirds intrusive entrance. None trusted him despite his returned position as a captain. It was made clear at the end of the battle that he'd only acted as he had for the sake of infiltrating Aizen's plan. A lifelong quest to get revenge on the previous Lord of Las Noches, Gin's story of love for Rangiku had won many hearts despite his transgressions against Soul Society. He'd betrayed everyone on the very basis of avenging the lieutenant of squad ten. Some thought it absolutely ludicrous, but after nearly dying when he betrayed Aizen (he'd been healed by Orihime Inoue, a common story after the war), he showed some that perhaps he wasn't so bad after all. Thus in all the confusion of his case, he was somehow released of his charges and, in the turmoil that was ensuing in Soul Society, set up once again as a captain.

Now that the situation was calming, some wondered how he'd even gotten there again and were regretting having forgiven him so easily. Alas, it was too late now.

"What is all the commotion about?" he asked as he stepped farther into the room. The two sitting captains glanced at each other uneasily before deciding it was inevitable that the third find out. He was a captain after all and the two would have to report this odd news eventually.

"One of my scouts encountered a hollow that said some strange things," Shunsui replied as he handed the parchment to their new counterpart. "Perhaps you'd know something about it, or know if such an occurrence was even possible?" Taking the paper in his spidery hands, the narrow eyes of the captain read the report as the room fell silent. The only outward sign they received that even hinted that the third captain knew anything was how his smile curved up ever so slightly.

"This… is very interesting indeed," he decided as his slitted eyes continued to roam the paper. "Espada that became human? Who would have thought such a development was even possible?" He handed the parchment back to the other two captains. "Unfortunately I know no more about this than you do, though if this is true I'd say it creates quite a predicament for our comrades stationed in the world of the living."

"We were just discussing that," Captain Ukitake replied and sighed.

"But if they are humans," Gin continued, "then certainly they are harmless. Pursuing them would almost be… pointless." His argument echoed around the room eerily as the two older men stared at the silver haired fox.

"Be wary what you say Captain Ichimaru," Shunsui warned. "Your position is not as stable as you like to think it is. I understand your point, but many others would seek to call you a traitor in league with the enemy for such remarks."

"It's terrible really," the third didn't sound at all dejected. "I'm only voicing a conclusion everyone else would come to, yet my position is threatened. Quite sad really, that Soul Society is so afraid of its own. Sad, and rather undignified in the end."

"Perhaps," Jushiro agreed, "but true nonetheless."

"So only six _chose_ to become humans?" Gin questioned. "I wonder where the other ones are, or even how this was possible to begin with."

"Do you have any idea who the six could be that would choose humanity over being hollows?" Shunsui asked inquiringly.

"That is a curious question," the fox-faced man replied, "but I think I will refrain from commenting. Don't want to affiliate myself with such matters, not when my position is in such dire straits. Wouldn't want to be labeled a traitor for knowing too much you know." The other two refrained from showing outward signs of irritation. "Are you going to report that to the Head Captain? You probably should, wouldn't want to be labeled traitors yourselves for keeping important information disclosed. Unfortunately for two of our other dear captains and their subordinates, they've probably already sealed their own doom."

"You talk lightly considering one of them is the woman you claimed to have lived for since childhood," the thirteenth captain stated.

"I talk of nothing now Captain Ukitake," his grin widened even more. "You know me; I'll wait until the absolute best moment to make my move. Until then, I see no reason to get upset." Bowing his head, he backed out of the little room he'd entered only moments before. "Good day gentlemen, and I'll see you later at the emergency captains meetings I'm sure will be called sometime today." Turning on his heel, the silver haired captain vanished.

The other two sighed.

**oOo**

"If this _is_ true then we should go and apprehend them immediately," the captain of the second squad stated loudly to the other ten captains standing before her. "Humans or not, they need to be brought in and put to justice. If we let this go then we're nothing but hypocrites and can hardly be labeled shinigami."

"Let's not jump to do anything rash," Captain Ukitake stated into the tense atmosphere. "We don't even know that this information is legitimate, it was taken from a hollow after all. And let us not forget that Captain Hitsugaya has yet to give his report. Certainly if something is amiss we'll know then."

"If something was amiss," Captain Kurotsuchi started, "then the captain of the tenth squad should have reported it long ago. I believe it is worth looking into either way." They all knew _his_ reasons for wanting to investigate. A hollow turned human, what an interesting specimen it would make.

"Enough," the head captain stated loudly and all the shinigami present glanced up at him. "This situation is unexpected and never been heard of before. Whether what this hollow claimed was true or not, it must be investigated. I agree that if something was amiss, Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya should have reported it, thus we will wait to act until he is contacted. We will alert him to the news we have received and await his reply. Until then, remain patient." Holding out his hand, the bearded man summoned a hell butterfly. It touched his fingers and with it he included his message.

Flapping its wings, it glided to the window and disappeared into the afternoon sun.

**oOo**

The door clicked shut behind them.

Shoving her to the wall, he pressed his heated lips to her soft ones, his hands travelling up her legs as she replied with much the same gusto he exhibited. Moaning into his mouth, she pressed her palms against his chest, her fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt lustily.

He'd been waiting the whole weekend to get her alone in her apartment again. As was the story of his life, there was constantly something ready to interrupt him when all he wanted to do was ravage her. Now though, he had faith that he finally had her alone. Their friends had gone home, no one was expected at her place as Rangiku was drinking again at Urahara's with Ikkaku and Yumichika, Toshiro was training Karin until later that night, and the fourth had some hours before he was supposed to be heading back to his own house.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer to her. He could feel her chest heaving against his, her breasts waiting to be unclothed. Pressing himself against her, he pulled her legs around his waist. She wrapped them around him tightly, his hips pressing against her jean covered core as his hands made a swift track up her thighs. He could smell the sweat, her need, everywhere and it only intensified the bulge growing between his legs.

Her hands found their way to his hair, her fingers threading through the locks as he pulled her lower lip between his own. His hands were well on their way to the rim of her sweater, his own body pressing her against the wall with just enough force to keep her up. Finding the bare skin above her pants, he grabbed hold of the cotton garment she wore just above and effortlessly pulled it up. Momentarily releasing his hair and halting in their tongue battle, he lifted the offending piece of cloth over her head before tossing it to the side.

Lips meeting once again, her nimble fingers found the buttons of his shirt. Quickly undoing the contraptions, it wasn't long until he was also shedding the top half of his clothing as well, the black shirt falling to the floor somewhere behind him. Hands gliding up her sides, he reached around her back to find the clasp to her bra, her hands suspended on his shoulders as she arched her back, her breasts pressed onto his bare chest as she allowed him to attempt to remove the apparatus holding tightly her voluptuous cleavage.

He'd done so many times before, thus his mission would seem easy to many, but alas his fingers were deterred when a harsh shriek greeted their ears. Pausing in his devouring of her mouth, he was only momentarily sidetracked as he reached into his pocket, found the cell phone making the terrible racket, and tossed it carelessly to the other side of the room where it halted in its ringing a few seconds later.

Once again set on his original task, the fourth found the clip at the center of her back, released it, and tossed her bra over his head, his lips once again locked to hers. Holding more tightly around his waist, her breathing became more labored as his hands cupped fiercely the rounds of her breasts, his thumbs massaging the hardened tips greedily.

Hands slipping down his chest to his hips, she found the rim of his jeans, then the button, then the zipper. Releasing both, she allowed his pants to drop to the floor before once again wrapping her thighs around his middle.

Sacrificing his possessive hold on her breasts, he pulled his hands around her back as he kicked off his shoes, successfully allowing him to step out of his pants. Pulling her away from the wall, he hugged her as close to him as possible, her lips still attached to his, as he stumbled across the apartment to her bedroom. Shoving the door open, he dropped her softly on the bed, their mouths finally parting for air.

Grabbing her right ankle, he pulled her tennis shoe off before doing the same with the left. Successfully stripping her feet, he climbed onto the bed, his legs straddling her as his mouth once again found hers. Caressing her red and swollen lips momentarily, his kisses dragged to her chin, her throat, her collar, his hands all the while working busily to loosen her jeans.

And as the button below her naval popped apart, he dragged his lips down between her breasts, his hair skimming her skin with a feathers touch as he cupped the edge of her jeans in his hands and started to pull downward. And as his mouth touched the rim of her lacy undergarments, his ears were suddenly assaulted by a fast paced musical siren, his palm vibrating as the device placed inside her jeans sprang to life.

Momentarily shocked out of the moment, the fourth growled, straightened, and practically ripped her jeans from her body. Tossing the noisy garment to the other side of the room, it collided with the wall, the harsh ringing of her phone dampened as the heavy cloth collapsed on the floor.

With the racket once again ignored, Ulquiorra pulled himself back up onto the bed, his green eyes meeting her silver ones as he dragged his hands from her knees to her hips, his fingers burrowing up underneath the thin fabric of her pink panties. Pulling them downward, he never let his gaze drop from hers as the last of her clothes were removed and tossed to the side.

Running his fingers across the soft flesh of her thighs, he let his hands lead him upwards until his palms were laid flat against the sides of her waist, the tips of his finger just barley brushing the rounds of her breasts. And as his eyes finally broke contact with hers, he took a deep breath, his nose caressing the skin just below her naval, his hot breath splashing clouds across her stomach as he let his lips slowly, delicately, drag downward.

She gasped above him, her hands gripping the sheets desperately as his mouth found the beginnings of her damp need. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes only momentarily as her lust for him assaulted his senses. The smell of her, the sweat that had accumulated across her body, the shuddering, tortured spasms that took her whole being hostage. He reveled in it all. And as his tongue grazed the sensitive flesh between her legs, her hips thrust forward and up, a gasping whimper leaving her throat desperately.

And as her desire echoed around the room, another sound joined in, a shriller, more immediate screech that all but ruined the atmosphere. Brows coming together in annoyance, the fourth paused in his endeavors as the harsh ringing of her home phone bulleted into their ears. She too fell silent, their movements pausing as they waited.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

"_Hi, this is Orihime, leave a message and your number at the beep, bye!"_

"Beeeeep."

_"Dude, what the fuck, why won't either of you answer your damn phones? I don't appreciate being ignored." _Growling, Ulquiorra cursed his older brother's impeccable timing. _"Well I guess it doesn't matter, but whenever you get this message Pet, drag your pretty ass and Ulqui-emo back over here, we have serious problems. Captain Elementary just showed up with a message from Soul Society, and guess who it's about. Yeah, that's right; shit has just hit the fan. So hurry up, everyone is on their way now."_

"Click."

Pulling his head up from between his woman's legs, the fourth glanced back at the open door of the bedroom, his brows furrowed now not in anger but concern. His redhead in turn had risen to a sitting position, her silver eyes, which had just previously been filled with very naughty intentions, now clear and overcome with fear and worry.

"Ulquiorra?" she questioned hesitantly and his green eyes fell back on her. "Does he mean that Soul Society knows… about you guys?" It was obvious by the way she cupped her hands below her chin that she was dreading the worst.

"I do not know," he replied quietly, his eyes drifting to the sheets in thought. "I guess we'll know when we get over there." Climbing down off the bed, he held his hand out to her. She took it and once he had pulled her to her feet, they quickly gathered their clothes, pulled them on, and headed back out the door and into the cool November air.

**oOo**

"How did they find out?" Harribel's question was one of the many on everyone's mind and it echoed around them eerily. She stood near the back of the room, the gloriously high windows of her house souring up behind her. She had her arms crossed beneath her breasts and Isshin stood stoically beside her, seeming very displeased. Beside him was Urahara, a jet black cat sitting on his shoulder. The two captains and their subordinates as well as Rukia and Renji stood on the other side, just on the edges of the kitchen, and between them on the couches sat numerous teenagers of all shapes and sizes.

"I don't know," the white haired captain replied with a sigh, his arms crossed over his chest as well. "It didn't say in the message. From what I gathered, they only suspect, they don't know for sure. They've asked me to verify the truth of it all as I should have noticed if something was amiss. However, no matter how I reply, they will no doubt dispatch other shinigami to investigate."

"Then hoping to remain hidden is fruitless," the blonde woman replied quietly, her green eyes breaching the floor as her hand went to her mouth in concern. Isshin placed a reassuring palm on her shoulder, thus a short pause in their discussion commenced.

"Well… what do we do?" the question was asked my none other than Lilynette, her pink eyes scouring all those around her for the answer. Starrk stood behind her seat on the couch, his hands held firmly on her shoulders so as to comfort her reeling thoughts. Unfortunately, no answer was immediately given.

"Well…" Toshiro finally felt it was his duty to commence in speech once again. "I have to give my report tomorrow so I suppose I'll have to verify that their suspicions are correct." Rangiku frowned beside him, her strawberry-blonde hair falling to one side of her white blouse as she considered her superiors decision.

"You're going to tell them?" Karin's voice was soft, strangled, and her gaze flitted between her sparring partner and her mother, her emotions obviously disjointed and confused. "But… but you know they're not bad." The white haired youth's mouth dropped open, but no words followed. He stared at the dark haired Kurosaki helplessly. What else was he supposed to do?

"It doesn't matter what he says, a lie or not," Starrk stated, his voice deep and demanding despite his sleepy eyes. "Soul Society will reach the truth one way or another. If he tells the truth, they'll act, and if he doesn't, they'll still act. Either way, we have to face what is obvious. Soul Society is going to come after us."

"So what?" Grimmjow spat irritably though no one missed how distressed his blue eyes actually were. "We'll fight them if we have to." That was where his defense ended and silent gazes were thrown around the room. It didn't matter if they fought, if Soul Society came after them full force, they'd be overwhelmed, it'd be a bloodbath. What Grimmjow was actually saying was that he'd rather risk dying than be captured.

"It's not that easy," Rukia muttered, her dark eyes falling to the orange head sitting on the couch in front of her. Her small hands gripped the leather of the sofa desperately, her lips tight. "Maybe you have no problem fighting, but… it's not that easy for the rest of us."

"What are you talking about?" the sixth rebuked. "I said _we'd_ fight, I didn't include you shinigami in the equation." And as those words fell across the room, the rift between them all was suddenly spread farther apart by anger and offense.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ichigo hissed as he leaned forward in his chair. "What's wrong with you? You think we're just going to leave you all out to dry or something? What the hell Grimmjow?" The rivals glared at each other.

"It's easier for everyone if we just draw the line, that way you can all forget about having to pick sides and just go back to your happy little lives." The orange haired teenager's nostrils flared dangerously, his hands balling into fists.

"Enough Grimmjow," Tatsuki stated quietly, her hand reaching up to grip the tense forearm of her significant other. "I understand what you're trying to do, but going off solo is only going to make it worse for everyone else." He stared down at her, his blue eyes hard. She didn't falter under his gaze however. "I mean it," she continued strictly. "Leaving everyone behind isn't going to protect anyone; we're all in this too deep now." The sixth turned from her then as he sank back in the chair, his eyes cast to the floor as he huffed in irritation.

Ichigo, upon hearing his old friend's testimony of her boyfriend's behavior, calmed slightly.

"Tatsuki is right you know," Yumichika sighed, the situation obviously a tedious mess in his eyes. "We're in this too deep. It doesn't matter what we shinigami say now, either way, sooner or later, it's going to come out that we kept this a secret, and when that is revealed…"

"We'll be demoted at the least," Ikkaku stated irritably, "and sentenced as traitors with all of you at the most." All eyes were drawn to the shinigami then. Two captains, three lieutenants, and a seated officer. All of them were now dragged into this too. How they handled the situation from this point onward would determine their worth to Soul Society in the end. Yet no matter what they did now, they'd never be able to return home with the same rank they had left with.

"This is bullshit," Grimmjow snarled. "What are we supposed to do? Just hand ourselves over?"

"Do we have a choice?" Ulquiorra inquired steadily as he ignored the stricken face his Woman was giving him. "Perhaps, if we come forward, they will be more lenient with their punishment if we otherwise rebelled against them. They won the war after all; they have the right to sentence us for war crimes. We would have done the same to them, if not worse, had we been the victors instead."

"Yeah, just a thousand year sentence instead of a lifetime," Grimmjow hissed.

"But that's not fair!" Orihime exclaimed as she pulled Ulquiorra's hand into her lap. "You guys aren't bad, everyone here knows that. What you did back then, it's… it's not the same anymore…" Green met silver momentarily as Ulquiorra's shoulders dropped, his hand grasping tighter his Woman's as she sighed in distress.

"Honestly?" Uryu leaned back against the couch, his back straight as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Who is Soul Society to decide what is right and wrong anyway? I can tell you all for one that I don't live under their law. They use force and intimidation, and murder, to get what they want in the end." Strangely enough, none of the shinigami present had the heart to disagree with him. "Fighting them might be a useless cause, but for once I agree with Grimmjow. I'd rather go down knowing I tried than just giving in."

"You act like every Shinigami is out for blood," Renji stated testily and the Quincy cast him a disapproving look. The redhead in turn shook his head. He knew what the dark haired teenager was referring to, he was referring to the majority of Soul Society's past transgressions, but he couldn't help it if when everything his life was about was suddenly being criticized he got a little defensive.

"I agree with Uryu," Ichigo stated and Rukia pursed her lips, her eyes closing as she tried to contain her distraught emotions. "I'm not going to lie, I don't want to fight Soul Society, I have quite a few friends over there, but this goes past that." His brown eyes fell on the blonde woman standing beside his father and his cheeks pinked ever so slightly. "This is a family matter now, and I won't turn my back on that. I think we should stand up to them, and let them know that we have no intention of coming peacefully."

"Like father like son then," Isshin laughed, a small smile gracing his lips. "I just found the love of my life again," he grabbed her hand and she smiled up at him softly. "There's no way I'm just going to hand her over. I've been working outside Soul Society for a while and it seems they've forgotten about me, but they'll remember soon enough. I betrayed them once to be with this woman, it's easy to do so again."

"You can't betray someone you weren't in allegiance with to begin with," Urahara stated with a small grin. "And you wouldn't be the first group to stand up against them, know that." The candy salesman pulled his hat lower on his head. "The vizards ran for a long time and survived. And they may have to keep running once Soul Society gets its bearings again. There are many long held prejudices against hollow after all."

"I don't want to run," Grimmjow growled. "This is my house dammit, I'm not going into hiding."

"I know," Urahara replied, not at all peeved by the sixths attitude. "I'm just using them as an example to state that there are others who would probably be on your side." In other words, if you do decide to fight back, there are some who might join you if you simply ask them nicely.

Toshiro shook his head. "I can't believe I'm hearing this," he sighed. "A rebellion against Soul Society is being discussed right in front of me, and I'm not doing anything about it." Karin grinned reassuringly up at him, but alas even her smile couldn't set him at ease despite how it had in the past.

"What _can_ we do about it?" Ikkaku asked with a shrug. "The way I see it, we've got two options. Either we go back to Soul Society, or we join them. There aint no in-between in this situation. 'Sides, if we go back, we're only going to be treated like traitors." All eyes were suddenly focused on the group of shinigami. "Personally?" the bald man continued, "I don't really hold a whole lot of loyalty to the Court Guard Squads. I followed Captain Zaraki for the sole purpose of trying to surpass him until I was practically forced into this… _captain_ position. I do however hold Ichigo in pretty high esteem, and if he's going to join them, then I guess my decision is obvious." He grinned, "Maybe I'll even get a whack at my old captain, aye?"

"Are you saying that you're going to betray the organization that has supported you for so long without even thinking twice about it?" the captain of the tenth Squad stared at his comrade with slightly irritated eyes. "I knew you weren't very well invested in being a captain, but your lack of loyalty is almost disgusting."

"Loyalty to who?" the hairless man laughed. "My only loyalty lies in battle, so why not pick the side where I get guaranteed a chance to fight?"

"It's people like you that give shinigami a bad name," the white haired boy growled and Ikkaku frowned.

"Listen Captain Hitsugaya," he stated dangerously. "People like me don't have anything to do with it. It's those who can't decide what is right and wrong, those who follow orders blindly, that make a bad name for us." A few surprised glances were thrown around the room; normally the bald man was the last person to spread words of wisdom. "I fight, I'll admit, it's about all I'm good for, but at least I'm honest about it. I'm not the indecisive one." Toshiro's nostrils were flaring angrily then and his cold gaze drifted to Yumichika.

"I follow my captain's orders," he stated with a slight smile. The two battle lust driven men then glanced at each other before Ikkaku bent down, grabbed Ichigo by the hand, and the two grinned as they shook their allegiance into reality.

"A captain has joined our ranks," Starrk stated, his voice melancholy. "Certainly that's going to set a few higher ups on edge."

"Hardly," Renji replied. "No offense Ikkaku, but your abilities as a captain weren't held is very high esteem. Like the captain of squad eleven, those two have a few more enemies in Soul Society than most. His respect level isn't the greatest, per say." The bald man glared at the redhead who shrugged. "I'm not saying I agree with it," he replied quickly. "You know I have the utmost respect for you Captain Madarame."

"Damn straight," the now treacherous captain muttered.

"Why do we have to pick sides like this?" Orihime asked, her eyes falling to the floor dejectedly. "Isn't there a way we can just… talk this over? Without fighting?" The room fell silent momentarily as Toshiro tightened his lips.

"I don't think all of you quite understand how hard this is going to be for many to accept," he began. "It was difficult for us," he gestured to his fellow shinigami, "and we got to see the situation first hand. The rift that is between the shinigami and hollow is beyond your comprehension. Much about this situation will be taken as blasphemous by most." A few curious glances were thrown his way and he sighed as he contemplated the best way to describe what he meant. "It's like… it's like if humans and animals… no, it'd be like if humans suddenly found that they had enough in common with pigs to see them as equals, to form relationships with them." Yes, _there_ were the disgusted looks he'd been trying to induce. "To Soul Society, that's what hollow are, animals, beasts, monsters. That you all have formed such close relationships with these Espada, intelligent or not, human or not, will be… impossible for them to understand. Not only that, but they're enemies of Soul Society to begin with. There's too much stacked against all of you at this point."

Orihime's gaze fell to the floor as she began to understand. But it was so unfair, all the prejudices…

"Well it's not like _we're_ the ones looking for a fight," Renji started. "But if Soul Society comes after us, we'll have no choice." Multiple gazes snapped to the lieutenant, more specifically, a pair of violet ones.

"What are you saying Lieutenant Abarai?" Toshiro whispered.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now," Renji took a deep breath. "This was never an 'if' situation, Soul Society was going to find out one way or another. I hold a lot of loyalty for the Court Guard Squads, which is exactly why I'm doing what I am." They waited for an explanation. "Maybe they do have war crimes stacked up against them, but we fought and killed _them_ too. If it had been me that lost, I'm not sure I would have had the decency to just lay low and try to live my life peacefully. They're all powerful and none of them have even mentioned getting revenge. Justice isn't black and white, and because I care about the state of the shinigami as a whole, I'm going to fight against them." Still, understanding was muddled considering his explanation. "I know these people now, and maybe that makes me a little biased, but if they deserve to get punished for war crimes then so do we. We were all manipulated by Aizen and we all did things we shouldn't have. If Soul Society fails to see that then I'm going to beat it into them if I have to."

"That's a mouthful coming from a Lieutenant," Toshiro stated with a sigh, his head shaking in defeat. "So what about you Rangiku?" The strawberry blonde raised her eyebrows, apparently surprised that her captain was actually asking for her opinion. "How do you feel about this?"

"I…" she was still shocked. Toshiro never asked her opinion. "I… will follow your orders sir." The short captain sighed.

"Then _answer_ my question Rangiku, and be honest." The tall, stylish woman considered her answer as she stared at her superior. Soon however her gaze drifted to her friends, and then her thoughts flitted to Gin.

Gin…

"I agree with Lieutenant Abarai," she finally stated. "I don't know this family as well as he does, but I know those around them, Orihime for one." She smiled at her fellow redhead. "I know she sees the good in everyone, even blindly at some points, but I'm like that too sometimes. And I know that had I not possessed this quality, I wouldn't have kept faith in the past like I have." She took a deep breath. "But I am also loyal to you Captain Hitsugaya, and I have many friends in Soul Society. I don't want to fight them, but taking this family into custody and persecuting them is… wrong I feel, and even if I must fight those I love, it is my duty as a shinigami to uphold justice and preserve life, so that's… what I want to do." She stared at her captain, waiting for his response.

He smiled cynically.

"And what about you… Rukia Kuchiki?" The short woman met the tenths gaze, icy blue and violet facing off only momentarily before the seated officer of the thirteenth squad looked away, her gaze falling to the ground as she hugged her arms around her waist and took a step back from the couch. Ichigo immediately turned to face her, his desperate eyes staring her down as her dark orbs met his soft brown ones.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked quietly and it was rather obvious to everyone that she was addressing Ichigo directly, thus they all remained silent and waited in baited breath. "You know how I feel about this," she continued, "you know I agree with Renji and… all of you…"

Yet she was hesitating. No one could blame her really. She was a strong woman, she kept Ichigo going after all, but alas some decisions were more difficult to consider than others. Like Orihime, Rukia had had part of her life haunted by imprisonment and emotional turmoil. She'd been sentenced to death with no hope of a way out, tortured emotionally by her own brother despite how sorry he was for inflicting pain on her, and even come to accept an unjust fate as though it was all her fault.

Not only that, but her past was still much a mystery to all of them. Only Renji knew what they did not. He was her best friend after all, the first family she'd ever had. But she was a Kuchiki now, and that meant she had responsibilities to _them_ as well. They had taken her in despite protests; her brother had protected her, and they'd forgiven her after her execution had turned out to be a setup despite the crimes she had committed anyway.

And now she wanted to throw that all away?

The dark haired woman took a shaky breath. She'd already been labeled a traitor once, forsaken by those she'd thought she could trust. She'd convinced herself then that her transgressions were terrible and that she deserved her punishment, but alas in the end she'd been proven wrong. And now, being with Ichigo as both his friend and loved one, it caused vast amounts of confusion and turmoil in her heart.

Perhaps it was his innocence, or his accepting attitude, but Ichigo Kurosaki continued to amaze her every day. Of course she'd never tell him that, but in places where she was afraid, he was fearless. Despite the crimes his mother had committed, he still stood by her. The Kuchiki clan had turned their backs on her, aside from her brother at the end, and even a year afterwards they had yet to fully turn their faces to her again.

Yet she waited for them. She wanted to please them, she wanted to be worthy of them. Such hopes kept her determined, but somewhere deep in her soul she knew that her endeavors, no matter how valiant, would never be good enough. She was adopted, as good as a bastard child. She sat above everyone else, but below all of _them_.

And now her time with Ichigo and his family had altered her perception of what that very word meant. She'd been ignoring them, ignoring her life back home as she came up with excuse after excuse as to why she should stay in Karakura. But now… now she was out of time. She had to choose. Either she went back to the family that had saved her, alas unwittingly, or place her life on the line for a family that accepted her even though she wasn't sure she belonged with them.

And what would Byakuya think? She honestly had no idea. In any case, should she join Ichigo, she'd be betraying him as well. He'd done so much for her, and he'd taught her many things as well, such as standing up for what you believed in. And she'd seen him learn a valuable lesson, one about taking the law into your own hands should it contradict what you believed to be right. He'd done that for her, saved her life, so would he feel shame if she did the same, or be proud of her?

It didn't matter in the end she supposed. She had to decide. Renji, Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, they were all giving up their positions, their lives in Soul Society, to fight for what was right. They were losing too, but for all the right reasons.

And she owed Ichigo. Not for saving her life, but for bringing her back to life. His love for her had taught her many things, and now she had to choose between that risk and keeping things safe.

Again, another lesson she could learn from her older brother. He'd gone against everything and everyone when he'd married her older sister. No, Rukia didn't have powerful bloodlines to back her up, her betrayal wouldn't be treated as his was, but she knew that going back to Soul Society would be as good as running, and she'd break Ichigo's heart again too.

She couldn't abandon him. He loved her, even if he couldn't admit it yet. He'd never given up on her, he'd put himself in grave danger to save her life. Now he was putting his life on the line once again to save others. The least she could do was help him along the way. Her family… was hardly what the word implied.

No, her decision had been made a long time ago.

"So," she finally broke the silence, her previous dialogue continuing, "if you know that I'm on your side, why in the world are you giving me that pathetic face?" She forced the spark back into her voice and as soon as that last insult left her lips, the tension in the room snapped and broke apart. Ichigo's shoulders dropped, he appeared more than relieved.

And then he did something most unexpected.

Standing from the couch, he quickly walked around it, his long legs carrying him over to her with ease. And before she could object, she was suddenly caught in his embrace. Violet eyes wide, she was momentarily silent as his strong arms encircled her small form, his head placed atop hers as he whispered into her hair.

"Thank you," was all he said.

"You're an idiot," she muttered once she'd caught her bearings, her hands reaching up to push him away. He didn't object and soon their short display of affection was over. Despite this, many were still looking on in surprise. Sure, they knew that Rukia and Ichigo were together, but, well, no one had ever expected to actually _see_ proof.

"Well I guess that's that then," Toshiro stated as gazes were once again drawn to the white haired youth. "You've all decided to rebel against Soul Society should the occasion arise, which I'm sure it will. Especially when the Head Captain learns that aside from becoming humans, you've all regained your former powers as well." No one verified this, but it was quite obvious that that was the case. Those who had a decision to make had made it, all others were either already tied up too tightly to the hollow family to go against them or automatically on whatever side Ichigo was on.

That was loyalty at its best.

"You are all aware that the price for treason is death, correct?" A few glances were thrown around the room, but everyone seemed to understand their position. There would be no executions. Should a fight arise, they would either reign victorious or die trying. The six hollow hadn't freed themselves of their previous lives just to be imprisoned again. They knew freedom now and were unlikely to give it up so easily.

"What about you?" Karin had risen to her feet and looked about to walk up to the white haired boy yet had stopped when he'd glanced up at her.

"Me?" he asked with a shrug before he turned and headed towards the door. "I have a report to file." Apparently deeming that explanation enough, he exited the house without another word and disappeared.

"I have a feeling things are about to get very interesting," Starrk stated with a sigh as his hands tightened on Lilynette's shoulders.

**oOo**

"What are you doing here?" his voice was authoritative, deep, but alas not nearly as mature sounding as he wished it was. Still, he would not snap rudely. He'd promised Rangiku he'd be civil, even if doing so caused a dangerous fire to build up in his chest.

"Me?" the fox-faced man sounded far too innocent. "I was just walking by when you came through the gate Captain Hitsugaya. You surprised me. I wasn't quite sure who you were at first since you're dressed," his smile widened, "rather strangely."

"I've come to give my report," he stated coldly in reply, ignoring the fellow captains comment about his attire. "And I have some interesting news considering the message I received yesterday." He tried to ignore the snakelike gaze the third was casting him. It was curious, speculative… and dangerous.

"In that case," he sounded far too happy, "allow me to escort you to the Head Captain." The white haired youth narrowed his eyes at his fellow. No one escorted a captain anywhere unless there was a viable reason. In his case… they must already suspect him of treason. "Don't worry," Gin whispered as though reading the younger's thoughts. "I'm not doing this on anyone's orders." He took a few steps closer to the shorter, his hands in his pockets. "Don't think of me so much as an escort as… a helping hand…" Again, his smile only widened.

Toshiro narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but said nothing more. Instead, he slowly nodded before backing away from the silver haired individual. Then, without another word, they flashed towards the Head Captains barracks.

**oOo**

"We will commence in the meeting now," Yamamoto stated, "despite the undress the tenth captain has arrived in." Again, Toshiro was reminded of his clothes. It wouldn't have been odd he supposed had he been in a Gigai, but he wasn't, thus the shedding of his uniform in favor of a t-shirt and jeans was considered, well, rather rude.

And suspicious.

"Thank you," the youngest captain replied as he bowed his head respectfully. All the other captains stared at him quizzically if not a little impatiently. His odd behavior was making them all on edge it appeared. "I will address the message I received yesterday promptly and with only the truth before I go into the details of my mission, should that even be relevant afterwards." Several skeptical looks were thrown around the room and a few more of the captains placed their hands on the hilts of their Zanpakuto.

It was an extremely insulting gesture. They were not hiding the fact that he was under some kind of severe scrutiny. His sword was strapped to his back as was per usual, but he refrained from touching it unless absolutely necessary, unlike them.

He also took note that the only captain seeming completely at ease was Gin.

"You sent a Hell Butterfly to me yesterday inquiring into rumors about some Espada turned human," might as well get it over with. "I'll put it plain and simple. What you heard is true," a few gazes widened in alarm. "Six of them have been living in the human world for some time now."

"Tell me Captain Hitsugaya," Yamamoto's voice boomed angrily across the room, "how long have you know about this and why didn't you report it to us as soon as you received this information? Certainly you must know this is a terrible breach in our security, that six of our enemies were able to sneak by without us so much as getting a whiff of their existence."

"It is a complicated situation Head Captain," he started, his cold eyes glancing from person to person. Now he was getting paranoid. They weren't going to jump him or anything… hopefully. "It seems that these hollow have fully integrated into human society. They have befriended Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends as well as-"

"Ichigo Kurosaki?" Soi Fon's voice rang out angrily. "If what you say is true then he's known about this longer than you have, yet he failed to report it as well." She made a valid point and it made many of the captain's uneasy.

"That… is true," Toshiro stated, his annoyance growing already. He really hated captains meetings. "Like I said, the situation is complicated." He paused in case anyone else had something to add, but they remained silent. "My decision to keep this to myself was unwise and provoked by emotion, but, now that I have been granted a new perspective, I do not regret having observed them."

"Observed them?" Captain Kurotsuchi was suddenly very curious. "Are you telling me that you have gotten close enough to actually watch them? Have you spoken to any of them?" The captain of the tenth division hated being on his toes, but alas he knew that the news he was soon to deliver would not been taken well.

"Yes, I have spoken to them many times, practically on a daily basis," yup, he was definitely a traitor now. He could practically feel the anger rolling off the Head Captain in waves. Unfortunately they were all so distracted with him that they failed to notice Gin's disappearance. So much for a helping hand. "Actually they have formed multiple bonds with many of the humans we are familiar with. They are… fully accepted by most involved in the situation."

"What do you mean by 'bonds' Captain?" she was soft spoken, the leader of the fourth squad, but her words demanded answers.

"Many of them have formed… friendly or romantic relationships with humans." Yes, an awkward silence ensued. He could see the gears in their heads slowly comprehending the situation.

"This is absurd," Byakuya rarely spoke up in meetings, but apparently he felt the need to now. "Are you telling me that hollow and humans have started intermingling in a way that is most appalling and unthinkable? Hollow eat humans, forming such bonds goes against nature." His statement wasn't particularly judgmental, just… factual.

"They aren't hollows anymore," he stated again. "They are humans, it's only natural that-"

"You expect us to believe that those cold-blooded monsters," Soi Fon was livid, "have the ability to somehow coexist with humans? Impossible. The very concept is disgusting." Toshiro had anticipated this reaction. Shinigami and hollow had been enemies for… well for as long as history had been recorded, perhaps longer. That a hollow, or something that _was_ a hollow, could possibly find a mate in a human? It was a grotesque thought needless to say. Hollow were death driven, torturous fiends that commenced in some of the most unfathomable acts ever considered by the human mind. That anyone would even consider the possibility of someone… being with one… it was revolting. And probably rather impossible to those who hadn't seen it firsthand to understand.

"Besides that," Captain Ukitake seemed tired already, "these individuals face numerous war crimes for what they've done. Certainly you considered this when you held this information at bay Captain Hitsugaya." The older man stared at his fellow white haired comrade in worry and anxiety.

"I have considered everything you all have," he replied with a sigh. "And I have come to the conclusion that they mean us no ill will. They are only trying to live their lives and-"

"It doesn't matter if they hold no ill will," Soi Fon continued. "The fact is that they are enemies of Soul Society and need to be apprehended. That hollow could once again become humans, the thought is unnatural and they are abominations. They _should_ be destroyed." Toshiro wanted to object, but she turned her gaze hard as she stared at him. "Whose side are you on Captain?" she hissed and he tightened his lips angrily.

It was time to end this.

"My opinion doesn't matter," he replied testily, "because no matter what I say, you won't listen." He knew that though there were many captains that probably could come to tolerate the situation, the fact of the matter was that the Head Captain wouldn't, and neither would most of the unworldly shinigami inhabiting Soul Society. Trying to explain it would be fruitless. "So I'll leave you with a warning instead," he grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto as some of the captains took a step forward threateningly. "They are humans, yes, but they are more powerful than you can imagine. And they have many allies."

"Like you, traitor," Soi Fon hissed.

"Yes, like myself, and Ichigo Kurosaki, and Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, my own team, the humans who understand the situation, and many others." He was backing towards the door now. This was where the situation got dangerous. "You would be wary to meddle in their affairs."

"Your treason cannot go unpunished Captain of the tenth squad," Yamamoto stated loudly. "You will suffer the punishments of such an act. Seize him." And that was his signal to run. Like hell he'd be caught. He'd gone to all the trouble of betraying them, might as well go all out and fight back.

And so he flashed out of the room.

"Find him," the Head Captain commanded. "And Gin Ichimaru too. Bring them both back here immediately." Without another word, all the captains disappeared.

Unfortunately, their search would be futile.

**oOo**

"He's back," Rukia's voice rang out around the living room. No one said anything in response. Instead they just waited. Despite it being a school day, no one had attended. Wary of the actions that Soul Society would take, they'd decided to remain as a group until their status was determined.

Toshiro Hitsugaya would be able to give them that information. At first, when he'd left them to "write his report," they hadn't known what side he was on. But later, when Rangiku had returned to Orihime's apartment to retrieve a few things, she'd found both the captain's kimono, cloak, and gigai stashed in a corner of the living room.

That had been all they needed to know in order to comprehend what side he was on. To shed your uniform was as good as telling the world you were against Soul Society. It was beyond insulting, it portrayed that one was separating themselves entirely from the law that bound shinigami. He'd become a rogue, a threat to Soul Society and everything they stood for.

Needless to say, everyone else had followed suit. None of the Espada had ever realized it before, but their own black uniforms had symbolized more than what they would have been comfortable with. It was the default outfit for shinigami, things they didn't even want to be affiliated with. Thus they had been more than happy to be rid of the garments.

Others had had more trouble, but in the end, they'd all successfully burned the black kimonos to ash. Remaining on guard and in their spirit bodies, they waited for either news or to be attacked.

"There's someone else with him," Harribel stated as she stared out the windows of her living room. And as that fact floated around the room, Ulquiorra felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Gripping the hilt of his zanpakuto, he tightened his lips in unease. He knew that reiatsu, even when it was being suppressed, and he didn't like it.

"Gin!" Rangiku exclaimed as two figures finally flashed into the yard outside the hollow home. She was already at the glass door as the two men hunkered their way into the house, welcoming them gratefully.

Most others were not as comfortable with the situation.

"Gin Ichimaru," the hostility in Ulquiorra's voice was evident and Orihime stared up at him in surprise. He didn't sound like he liked the captain of the third squad one bit. "What are you doing here?"

"Ulquiorra Cifer," he cooed with his trademark smile. "I should be asking you the same thing, no? You _are_ the hollow turned human after all." The atmosphere was obviously tense. Toshiro wasn't jumping in to explain Gin's presence either, only Rangiku seemed completely comfortable with the situation, her arms wrapped lovingly around the silver haired mans waist.

But no one was jumping him for that matter either. He had, after all, like the rest of them, shed his uniform in favor of a white human suit jacket, white slacks, and a purple dress shirt.

"You don't like me very much do you?" he asked as he gazed at the green eyed teenager, his voice sounding almost offended yet that terrible grin never left his face. "I have to say that's a pity really, but you never did warm up to me. You were the only one ever to show outward signs of hostility towards me when we'd served Aizen."

"Well I was right to," he replied. "You did betray him after all." This reminder of Gin's ability to switch sides without a second thought weighed heavily on all their thoughts.

"My, my," he replied as the mood finally seemed to catch up to Rangiku. She was frowning. "Here I am, ready to fight in your defense, and you can't even say thank you," he shrugged, his smile stretching farther across his face. "Well, then again, I guess that's not completely true." He really wasn't making it any easier for any of them to trust him. "But if Lieutenant Matsumoto feels that this is a cause worthy of her attention, they I suppose I'll join her in her endeavors."

They all understood then. Gin wasn't around because he wanted to help them. He was only there for Rangiku. Despite his fox-like appearance and snake-ish words, they were suddenly somewhat calmed. He'd lived his entire life for Rangiku; of course he'd show up to fight for them if she switched sides. It was odd really, to think such a man loved such woman so deeply. He'd follow her to the ends of the earth if she saw reason to go there. So long as the strawberry blonde was on their side, _he_ was on their side. He held loyalty only for her.

Still, that didn't mean Ulquiorra had to like it.

"That's three captains on our side," Starrk stated from his seat on the couch, "three lieutenants, and a seated officer. That's quite a few important people." Yes, perhaps on paper that looked to be true, but Toshiro knew otherwise.

"Hardly," he replied. "Like Renji stated earlier, Captain Madarame held little say. And I can assure you that Captain Ichimaru held even less authority." No one replied to this. "And me? Well I've got some say, but I'm still the youngest. We're not the best captains to have on your side."

"You're such a downer," Karin stated as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's better than nothing, right? That's three powerful people that are on our side. At least if it comes to a fight, we know that's three less we have to worry about." Toshiro stared at the ground, it wasn't good enough.

"So what's the verdict?" Isshin's deep baritone inquired curiously. As if he even had to ask.

"They'll be coming to hunt us all down soon enough," Toshiro stated with a sigh. "I tried to give my report, but things turned rather uncivil quite quickly. They didn't even give me a chance to explain that there was a bigger threat we needed to worry about before they were ordered to jump me." He shook his head.

"Can't say I'm really surprised," Urahara laughed shortly, cynically, as he ran his hand down the back of the black cat sitting in his lap. "They never want to hear an explanation more than their own. Once this is brought to the attention of Central Forty-six, all the captains, whether they feel the same way or not, will be on the hunt."

"So the question is," Renji crossed his arms over his chest, "what do we do now?"

"I've been thinking about that actually," Nel, her long turquoise hair falling over her shoulders as she crossed her legs, her back firm against the couch, started. "This isn't going to be a drawn out thing and if we all stick together, there's no way we can hide from them. Even with us all suppressing our reiatsu, with all of us this close… there's no way we can stay hidden for any length of time."

"We're sitting ducks," Renji agreed. "If we continue to sit here and wait it out, they're going to find us, ambush us… we won't stand a chance."

"What are you suggesting?" Grimmjow's voice was a growl. "I thought we'd already decided that running wasn't an option. _And_ that we needed to stick together. I'm not going to turn tail and leave just because some fuckin' shinigami-"

"You're failing to see the big picture Grimmjow," his mother snapped and he shut his mouth. "It is now a fact that they're after us. They don't want to talk, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if, considering how hostile they were towards Captain Hitsugaya, they had orders to execute us on sight. They have the upper hand right now. There's too few of us to stand up to them and win. We need to rethink our strategy, and quickly, before we're slaughtered."

"She's right," Toshiro agreed. "Even with all of us together, we're not strong enough to stand against all of Soul Society, not if we want to make it through with all our lives. Granted, you Espada have powers that far surpass many shinigami, but they have numbers that we can't account for. During the war it was only those that were in leadership positions that were allowed to fight, aside from very few exceptions, but if it comes down to it, the stealth force, seated officers… their numbers will overwhelm us."

"Not only that, but we can't forget that we have more than just Soul Society after us," Harribel interjected. "We haven't even figured out what's going on in Hueco Mundo. We have to consider-"

"Wait, what?" Gin's voice fell into the conversation and they all turned to him. His expression, though still snake-like, was serious. "What do you mean something going on in Hueco Mundo? Soul Society hadn't heard anything about this." Urahara sighed.

"That's why I allowed these ex-hollow to regain their powers," the candy salesman began warily as he rubbed his temples. "They are very powerful. Something very dangerous is brewing in Hueco Mundo, something that the shinigami won't be able to handle alone. With their help, we have a much needed advantage. But whoever is in control over there knows this and there have been multiple attacks sent against them, trying to exterminate them."

"That… is very interesting," the silver haired captain replied. "You do not know how Soul Society found out about you all, do you?" They could see the gears turning in the fox-faced man's head as he continued to address them. "A hollow came and delivered the message… that was how they knew."

Ulquiorra felt his breath catch in his throat, and he wasn't the only one.

"It was all a setup," the fourth stated as the pieces started to come together.

"He's right," Rukia interjected, her face paling. Ichigo gave her a curious look, he still didn't understand. "We're falling right into their trap," she continued. "They told Soul Society after they'd failed to get rid of us on their own. They're pinning us against each other on purpose." There was suddenly a very daunting weight encompassing the room.

"They can't infiltrate the world of the living with us on guard for them," Nel muttered, her head shaking. "But with Soul Society after us, not only is there a good chance our numbers will be depleted, but the shinigami's as well. They played this all out perfectly. They knew we'd fight back, they knew…"

"They knew we'd destroy each other," Toshiro stated with a dejected slump of his shoulders. "We were about to fall right into their trap. If we fight, we'll be too injured to stand up to them. This is all a ploy to aid in their plan, whatever that is."

Silence fell on the room as everyone slowly mulled over their newest realization. But Grimmjow couldn't hold back much longer. Growling, he felt his nails dig into his palm as he clenched his fists.

"So what do we do?" the blue haired teenager was at a loss. He wanted to fight, he wanted to stand up and let the world know that he wasn't afraid. But… they'd been backed into a corner now…

"First we need to figure out the true objective of those in Hueco Mundo," Urahara replied thoughtfully. "But I've been trying and I've come no closer to figuring out their true objectives. We don't have the time to busy ourselves with that, not if we want to avoid Soul Society. We can't fight them. If what we just discovered is in fact true then the last thing we have to default to is fighting."

"But Nel already explained it," Renji added. "We're sitting ducks the longer we stay grouped together like this. We're too powerful to go unnoticed for long. Not only that, but staying in Karakura would be like asking for a fight. It's the first place Soul Society is going to look for us."

"I won't run!" Grimmjow exclaimed desperately, his head in his hands as he slowly came to realize that perhaps they didn't have a choice.

"We _have_ to leave," Harribel stated, her head shaking. "If we don't then we have to fight, and doing so is as good as sealing our own doom. Not just ours, Soul Society's too, the world's maybe." She set her lips in a thin line. "And not only do we need to leave, we need to split up." Lilynette gripped Starrk's hand tighter, her breath becoming short as she tried to control her anxiety.

"I can't believe this…" Grimmjow muttered as he too shook his head, defeated.

"If we split up," Isshin started, "then there is a far less chance that we'll be discovered. And if we spread out they won't know the first place to look." Glances were being thrown around the room, unease becoming the more dominant emotion on everyone's face. "The longer we can stay hidden, the more time we have to try and puzzle out what is going on in Hueco Mundo."

"We need to leave as soon as possible then," Toshiro added. "The longer we stand here talking, the more time Soul Society has to find us."

"How are we even supposed to go about this though?" Ichigo was just as peeved as Grimmjow about this whole situation, but, like the sixth, he also saw the dire situation they were in. He was powerful, but he couldn't take on whatever was in Hueco Mundo and Soul Society at the same time. It was better to take this slow until they had some idea about what they were dealing with.

"I already have a few ideas," Isshin started. "First off, everyone needs to return to their bodies or gigai's. This seals off much reiatsu as well as giving everyone a more human like trace. It will be harder for everyone, hollow and shinigami, to track us down otherwise."

"We need to stay as underground as possible," Harribel picked up on his train of thought. "The more human we act, the less likely we are to be found. We need to look like humans and travel like them. That way we can avoid being noticed by anything and everyone."

"How will we split up though?" Karin was holding her twin sisters hand now, who was in turn on the verge of tears. They were all thoughtful for a moment before Urahara cleared his throat.

"Just because we're going into hiding doesn't mean we have to stop training," he started, his voice strict. "So long as we're not all together, we're far apart, and we try to look like humans on the outside, they'll have a hard time tracking us down. However, with both Kidou barriers and barriers like the ones Orihime can make, we should be able to hide and prepare for what's to come at the same time."

"So we split up into the groups necessary to continue that trend," Toshiro stated. "And those who are void of this predicament can split up into smaller groups to avoid detection."

"Well that solves one group then," Ichigo stated. "That means Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and I are together." The three boys glanced between each other, their silent understanding not going unheard by the remainder of the people present.

"None of you is any good at Kidou though," Harribel stated uneasily.

"I'll go with them," Orihime piped in loudly and received a disapproving look from her boyfriend. "I have to. You can't honestly think that Soul Society would leave us humans alone. They'll be after us too…" Ulquiorra didn't seem completely convinced.

"She's right," Toshiro confirmed. "They know that you humans have become involved. You'll have to go on the run as well unless you want to be apprehended by the shinigami." This news did not bring any comfort to anyone. Alas, it seemed Orihime was tagging along with the boys.

"We're going with them too," Tatsuki stated, her gaze falling between Uryu and Chad. "That's the way it's always been, right? You guys always go with Ichigo." Uryu didn't look at all happy to have this brought up, but didn't object either. "You know that those three and Orihime won't be able to survive on their own." Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes, he could so… "We'll go with them and make sure everything with their training stays under control. They _do_ have some of the most obvious reiatsu after all."

"That's a pretty big group," Harribel wasn't completely comfortable with the thought. "That's seven of you all together…"

"No, I think they should stay together," Isshin decided as he gave his wife a reassuring eye. "If they're together then we know they'll be safe, they'll watch out for each other." There were no further objects, thus the seven teenagers nodded, accepting their roles.

"Renji and I will group up," Rukia stated, her gaze pulling away from Ichigo. She wanted to go with him, but their group was big enough as it was. It would be far safer to leave it as is. "We know enough about being human; we can make it on our own."

Thus another group was formed as Renji nodded in agreement.

"Toshiro has been training me," Karin stated quietly. "So… should I go with him…?" She stared up at her parents, not quite sure if she had the authority to decide what group she went with or not.

"That's true," Starrk stated. "They're powers are very similar, separating them would be unwise if they want to continue training." He held Lilynette's hand tighter. "The two of them can come with us," he nodded to the pink haired girl at his side. "Lilynette and Karin will be safe with both Captain Hitsugaya and I there." Harribel slowly nodded. If Starrk was there… her children would be alright…

"What about me?" Yuzu squeaked, her lip quivering.

"You can come with the two of us," Isshin tried to give his defenseless daughter a reassuring smile as he pulled Harribel's hand into his own. The mother of his children would be less stressed if she had control over at least one of her children's fate. Yuzu couldn't defend herself. If she was with two powerful adults, she would be alright. Granted, Soul Society wouldn't hurt a human child, but they would abduct her if given the chance to get some answers.

"I've stayed here for long periods of time," Rangiku started. "I think Gin and I would be fine on our own." Again, no objections. "What about you Ikkaku, Yumichika? Could you two be together without avoiding detection?" In other words, you two have never fit in well with human society, if you go off on your own, will you give them all away?

"I'll go with them," Nel decided. "If I get a gigai then I'll remain in my more mature form. That way, I'll be able to keep them in line." Ikkaku and his lieutenant took obvious offense to that one. He already didn't like this hiding business, he'd wanted to fight. Now he'd have some woman trailing after him, keeping tabs on him. What a bother.

"That all sounds perfect," Urahara smiled sadly. "I'll have to relocate as well seeing as my shop is pretty well known by now to those in Soul Society. I'll focus all my attention on trying to find answers, that way we can come together again as soon as possible and hopefully form a new plan." They all nodded in agreement.

"Well there's just one question left to be asked," Uryu crossed his arms over his chest. "Where are we going to go?"

**oOo**

"It's like they all just… vanished…" Keigo frowned, muttering to himself as his shoulders dropped. There had been that week when all he'd been able to sense of his friends was a little bit of reiatsu, as if they were nearby, but preoccupied. Now it was Tuesday, but things were different. It was like they had all just... disappeared.

And as he peered through the window of the Kurosaki household, he was only more convinced that he'd simply imagined their existence. Everything was bear, empty, silent. He'd already spied through the Hollow House windows, it was the exact same there too.

He'd been left behind… again.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

Wow, that was a pretty intense chapter, a lot happened, nee? And there's GIN! I love him! I've been waiting to bring him into the story for a long time, and he got a lot of face time this chapter too. Unfortunately things are taking a turn for the worst. At least Ulquiorra and Orihime are together though, but with Uryu there as well… hmm, things could get messy.

Where will they all go? I haven't decided on all destinations yet, but it will be fun I promise. Too bad Renji and Rukia left alone though, but I have the feeling those two might be up to something. I'm not sure yet though. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what my author instincts tell me to do with them.

Nel, Ikkaku, and Yumichika together? I'm not even sure I want to touch that one. In any case, it will be a fun time I'm sure. And then there's Gin and Rangiku, hmmm. I'm not really sure how many of these scenarios I'm going to focus on, probably mainly just the central group of teenagers and Rukia and Renji, but we'll see if I'm inspired to make happenings otherwise. You'll all just have to wait and see.

Other than that, I don't think I have a whole lot more to say. Surprising, I know. Trust me however, this new action arch thing that I'm starting will be loads of fun. I mean c'mon, seven teenagers together without supervision? How could that not be hilarious?

So on that note, I'll say one last thing, poor Ulquiorra still hasn't gotten any.

Loves and stuffs!

Toodles.

Please, PLEASE R&R! I need your support and I really want to hear your thoughts on this next part of the story. You'd be surprised how much of your input I _do_ take into consideration.

Oh, and if I forgot any characters, let me know, but I think I got everyone that matters.


	25. On the Run

**The Definition of Love**

_"Well its the **story **of the two, **always **on the **move**_  
_ they got nothing left to **lose **'cept their guns and their **wounds**_  
_ now they're **crossing borders** sheriff's **posse **on their **tail**_  
_ they'd rather **die together **than be **stuck up in a cell**_  
_ they drank up all the whiskey and they **partied every night**_  
_ like it could be the **last**, the bounty said to '**shoot on sight**'_  
_ they're **chasing **in the summer, knew it came with a **price**_  
_ They wouldn't stop **running **til they found a **paradise**_  
_ but the **sheriff **finally found them with his eyes **seeing red**_  
_ so the **lovers **had to **shoot him down** and fill him full of lead_  
_ they were finally **free **to find a place to **lay **their **head**_  
_ and when he finally did he **looked **at her and he **said**_"

**_Lay Me Down - Dirty Heads_**

**Chapter 25: On the Run**

"And take this with you Grimmjow," the blonde woman continued, her face flushed as she tied the blue haired teenagers scarf around his neck and handed him a pill bottle. "I know you get motion sickness and if you take two of these before you board the plane, you'll fall asleep right away." Grimmjow in turn growled, his hands dropping to his sides in irritated embarrassment.

"Okay, okay," the sixth stated as he pulled away from the blonde woman. "Stop fussing Harribel, we'll all be fine." She huffed, her arms crossing under her breasts as her brows furrowed. Her eyes travelled between her three sons anxiously and with little pause. Finally though, an announcement was aired explaining that flight forty-seven to Las Vegas, Nevada would be boarding.

So with that in mind, the family and their friends prepared themselves for the final goodbye. Walking forward, Harribel first encountered Ulquiorra. Encircling his neck with her arms, she pulled him into a tight embrace, much to his surprise. Hesitantly, he returned the gesture.

And as she pulled back, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears, she grabbed his chin gently between fingers.

"Make sure you wear sunscreen, okay?" she whispered with a broken smile and he nodded silently. So with a huffed sigh she leaned up, pecked him once on the cheek, and moved down the line. And as she had with the fourth, she didn't hesitate in taking Ichigo in her arms.

"Stop worrying," he muttered into her ear as he hugged her back just as tightly as she did him. "Everything is going to be fine, I promise." She nodded against his shoulder while blinking back tears. Kissing him on the cheek as she did Ulquiorra, she pulled back, placed her hand lovingly along his jaw, before she took a shuddering breath and returned once again to Grimmjow.

"He's right ya know," the blue haired teenager started before she'd even gotten her arms all the way around his neck. "Nothing is going to happen. We're doing this for the sake of _not_ getting caught, remember?" She didn't reply to his reassurances and he sighed, his blue eyes falling to the floor as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "So emotional…" Placing a last peck on his cheek, she backed away from them, her lips pursed as she tried to hold herself together.

"You've got a level head on your shoulders," Starrk mumbled to Ulquiorra as he grabbed the fourth by the back of his head and pulled him forcefully to his chest, much to the dark haired teenagers wide eyed surprise. "Keep things in line," were his last words. The embrace had been short and sweet, but Ulquiorra knew the significance of it. He was one of the responsible ones and it was his job to watch over some of the others (mostly Grimmjow).

"Don't do anything stupid," Lilynette mumbled and Ulquiorra glanced down at her as Starrk moved down towards Grimmjow. Her chin started to quiver as their eyes met and, with a soft sight, he leaned down to her level. "P-promise you'll all c-come back," tears started to form in her pink eyes. Pulling her to his chest, he hugged her tightly, mostly for her benefit rather than his.

"We will come back," he stated simply and she nodded against his chest. Their embrace lasted a few seconds longer before she pulled away. Wiping her eyes on her sleeve, she tried to smile at her older brother before skipping on down to Grimmjow who had just finished exchanging a few words with Starrk.

"Ichigo," Isshin walked up to his son and placed his hands heavily on his shoulders. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." The orange haired shinigami gave his father the most unenthused look he could muster before he was forcefully jolted backwards. Gasping, he glanced down to find both his twin sisters attached to his waist. Karin appeared dejected and Yuzu was already crying.

"Alright," he sighed as he hugged them back. "This isn't forever you know, we'll be back before you know it." Neither girl replied and the Kurosaki siblings were silent for a few moments before Karin finally pulled away, dragging her blonde sister with her.

By this time Lilynette was having trouble controlling her breathing as she stared up at Grimmjow.

"Don't run off by your-yourself," she started, "and don't fight with Ichigo all the time. And don't do anything that could end up with you d-dead, or maimed, or-"

"I get it!" The sixth shook his head as he pulled his little sister in for a hug. "I'll play it safe, I promise." She hiccupped and he held her for a few seconds before releasing her. Staring down at her, he gave her a slightly crooked grin, only one of his overly long canines visible. "You shouldn't cry so much," he stated softly as he wiped a few of the tears from her eyes. "I know goodbyes are sad, but we'll see each other again soon." She nodded, her lips trembling, before she turned away quickly and slipped her hand inside Starrk's once again.

"Hey guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but we have to get on the plane," Tatsuki had come up behind Grimmjow, her brown eyes uneasy as she addressed her travelling partners. They nodded in turn, took hold of their bags, and made a swift goodbye to the rest of their family and friends, some of which included short yet lung crushing hugs from Nel.

The only other physical contact that was made was by Orihime and Rangiku, who gave each other tight hugs and teary goodbyes, Renji, who slapped Ichigo harshly on the back, and Rukia, who placed a single hand on her boyfriends cheek, whispered something in his ear that made him visibly flush, and smiled softly before backing away from him. Staring at each other only a moment longer, the two shared some invisible message before the orange haired shinigami turned and headed towards the boarding platform.

Waving, the seven teenagers tried not to glance back as they boarded the United States bound plane.

There weren't a ton of people aboard said plane considering it was one in the morning on a Monday night, but alas it was still hard to move about. They weren't in first class or anything, but once they finally found their seats and had stored their carry-ons above their heads, they let out relieved sighs despite the scrunched circumstances they found themselves in.

"I haven't been on plane in years," Orihime mentioned quietly as she yawned and peered out the window. Ulquiorra glanced at her from his seat between her and Uryu, yet said nothing. Truth be told, he was exhausted. A lot had happened recently. Between fighting his hollow and fleeing the country, he wasn't sure when he'd last gotten a full night's sleep.

He was rather fond of sleeping despite its ability to waste copious amounts of time. And with this thought in mind, he leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, though he craved slumber, his mind was still reeling. So much had happened…

_"Everything is arranged," Urahara stated as they all sat back down around the area of the living room where a one of a kind glass, European table had once sat. With the decision to split up and leave being their top priority, all peoples involved had gone back to their homes and packed one suitcase and one carry-on (as well as Harribel transporting the two dogs and cat to a nearby kennel). It wasn't a lot, but they didn't have time to lug around much else. "Inside each of these envelopes is all the information all of you will need in order to leave and stay wherever it is you are going." Between passports, fake birth certificates, and pieces of faulty identification, each person was set. _

_ "What are these for?" Renji asked as he pulled a small, silver cell phone from his packet. _

_ "Untraceable by both Soul Society and humans, those cell phones work within a network set up between only us," the blonde man explained and the ex-lieutenant of squad six gave him a skeptical look. The candy salesmen returned with a cocky grin. "You'd be surprised what a man like myself could accomplish in the three hours you were all busy." No one needed more of an explanation. _

_ "What about these pills?" Uryu questioned as he shook one of the pink tablets into his hand. It was long and cylindrical, quite innocent looking really. Each person had a small container holding six. Each person, that was, that hadn't ever been a formal member of the Espada. _

_ "Those are language stimulators," the candy salesman explained. "They're a new invention of mine actually, inspired by our very own Espada. Imbedded in the consciousness of each of our hollow friends is a similar device, only theirs is permanent. An invention of Aizen's I suppose. In any case, it transferred with them when they became humans." The six individuals with said contraptions were given curious looks. "Basically it allows them to automatically dissect and memorize any language they hear or see. Something like a filter I suppose. Via this they can regurgitate any dialect they so desire." The looks of curiosity turned to ones of awe and approval. _

_ Grimmjow shrugged, a cocky smile on his face as he clicked his tongue. "What can I say? I guess I'm just that awesome." Ulquiorra rolled his eyes._

_ "Wow," Renji stared at the little pink pill quizzically. "I wish we had these in Soul Society. I only speak three languages, and poorly too. And that's after taking classes for years and years and years." _

_ "Well as is obvious, we don't have years to learn the languages of our destinations," Urahara took over again. "Once you swallow these, you'll all have the same abilities as the six former hollow among you. It isn't permanent however. The effects will only last around a month. You'll know when it wears off," he smiled, "because you'll rather suddenly be unable to understand what's going on around you. Just take another one then. I've given you all six. If we haven't come back together again by the time you run out, I'll have figured some way to get you more." Hopefully that wouldn't be the case. Longer than half a year? What a daunting concept._

_ "We've also decided on destinations," turning, they all watched as a tall, dark skinned, exotic looking woman strolled through the kitchen of the hollow home and into the living room. She had her arms crossed over her chest, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Inside each envelope are your one-way tickets. When the time comes to return here once again, we'll deal with getting you all on planes and back," Yoruichi Shihoin, infamous black cat and best friend to Urahara. "If such human methods of travel are still necessary that is." _

_ "We tried to be rather strategic in determining the best places for all of us to go," the blonde scientist took over again. "Each destination consists of a large city with a dense population. This will make it easier to live unnoticed; your reiatsu will be more securely hidden. There are also geographic reasons behind some locations." _

_ "Our group of seven teenagers," Yoruichi started, "will be headed to, despite how unwise the choice may be, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America." She gave them all a visible warning with her stare. "You are not there to take advantage of the city, keep that in mind. You are to remain living low key. The reason for your going there is that the three of you," she nodded to Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Ichigo, "need a wide expanse of area to train. There's plenty of deserted desert nearby, take advantage of it. Just remain shielded so you are not spotted. And try not to destroy any nearby cliffs or landmasses; we picked a barren desert area for a reason." _

_ "Not only that," Urahara interjected, "but America will be one of the easier places for you all to adapt to. There are too many of you together to risk being manhandled by the government of a stricter country. None of you are well travelled, so still be careful about your behavior." _

_ "As for our second group in need of a training area," Yoruichi continued, "and by recommendation of Coyote Starrk, you four will be headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil." She nodded to Toshiro, "There is a large expanse of uninhabited rainforest in this country. I trust that with your disciplined training methods Captain Hitsugaya, you will be able to make some progress without taking down too many trees and alerting the local populace." He nodded, seeming satisfied. _

_ "The rest of the destinations were picked more on the basis of location and population," Urahara sighed as he continued. "That is, we tried to make them somewhat evenly dispersed so that no one group was overly close to another." The blonde nodded to Renji and Rukia. "You two will be headed to Cape Town, South Africa." _

_ "We get to go to London!" Rangiku exclaimed happily to Gin as she stared down at her ticket. "I'm so excited," she continued as her significant other cast her what the rest of them assumed might be a skeptical gaze. They couldn't see enough of his eyes to be sure. "And the accent," she blundered on, "so attractive." The silver haired man furrowed his brows uneasily. _

_ "We have to go to Moscow?" Nel frowned as she stared from her ticket to Yumichika. Both of them seemed fairly unhappy. _

_ "That's in Russia, right?" the overly pretty man asked, his face continuing to drop. "Isn't it like… really cold there…?" Both he and Nel shivered. Ikkaku looked bored; apparently he didn't care where they went. "Couldn't we go somewhere more… tropical?" _

_ "This isn't a vacation," Yoruichi reprimanded shortly with a frown. The party stopped objecting after that. Instead the two more feminine occupants considered all the heavy clothes they'd have to purchase. Winter was beginning after all. Well at least they had rather unlimited funds thanks to the generous contribution by all the working peoples of their group (it helped that Urahara and Yoruichi were rather wealthy as well, though no one dared ask where they had acquired such vast amounts of human currency). _

_ "Delhi, India huh?" Isshin muttered with a shrug. Harribel didn't seem at all deterred by their destination either and Yuzu was just flat out wary and excited at the same time. She'd never really been out of Karakura before. It was kind of a scary thought, but with her parents there she was sure everything would be alright. _

_ "And the five of us," Urahara added as he gestured to those members of his own party that weren't actually present, "are headed to Jakarta, Indonesia. Do not write any of this down. Should Soul Society find you, they will only have information as to your own destinations. That way you will have put no one else in jeopardy." He was suddenly thoughtful. "That reminds me, the phones. Each one is in tune to your specified reiatsu, that way only the owner may use it."_

_ "You put a lot of thought into this," Uryu stated distractedly as he continued rifling through his own papers. _

_ "Innovation is my forte," the blonde man smiled. _

"Hey," Ulquiorra flicked his eyes open once again and peered back. Grimmjow was sitting directly behind him and was currently poking him on the top of the head. Unhappy that his nap had been interrupted, he stared back at his older brother in annoyance. "You know anything about the place we're going to?"

"No," the fourth replied simply and his Woman turned to stare at him.

"You don't?" she appeared slightly surprised. "Well, I mean, I guess I don't know a whole lot either," she shrugged and giggled. "All I know is that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at her. What did _that_ mean? It certainly didn't sound good…

"It's a party city," Tatsuki stated, sounding bored as she gazed out the window from her seat next to Grimmjow. "My mom had to go there once on a business trip. She said she hadn't been very impressed." She shrugged and Orihime frowned.

"What…" the redhead stared at her best friend with obvious concern as she glanced over the seats. "What did you tell your mom Tatsuki, about leaving?" The dark haired karate champion sighed.

"I just told her I was leaving for a while," she replied quietly without looking at them. "I'm old enough now to do what I want. She was upset, but promised she wouldn't look for me." It was obvious despite her attempts to hide it that she was troubled about the whole arrangement. Grimmjow frowned.

"What about you Uryu?" Orihime inquired as she stared past Ulquiorra. The Quincy was seated in the aisle seat next to the fourth, his nose shoved in a book.

"What are you talking about Inoue?" he rebuked coldly without looking up. "I didn't tell my father anything." As if that somehow explained the whole situation, he once again fell silent. A few curious looks were thrown between those nearby, but no one commented. Uryu had been acting rather icily since he'd realized his seat was right next to Ulquiorra's. He really didn't like the former Espada for reasons that most found better not to bring up.

Orihime was oblivious to that rationale however and instead frowned, a little upset that her friend was being so detached.

"It's situations like these that having no family makes things more convenient," Chad uttered quietly with a yawn from his seat in front of Uryu. Orihime shrugged in agreement as she settled herself back down in her own seat. Soon after that it was announced the plane would be leaving the gates and all passengers were to buckle their seatbelts and put away all electronic devices until they were safely in the air.

The group fell silent then, some nodding off, others thinking, but none in much of a mood to talk.

**oOo**

"This is my first time on a plane," she uttered with a sigh as she sat back down in her seat. Situated in the middle between both Lilynette and Toshiro, it wasn't proving to be the most comfortable trip. She'd considered moving, seeing as other passengers were far and few between, but alas was too afraid she'd get yelled at by one of the employees aboard.

"Mine as well," the white haired shinigami replied without so much as looking at her. Hence, they fell silent once again. It had been like this before her bathroom break as well and it was starting to annoy the dark haired Kurosaki. Both Lilynette and Starrk, the brown haired man was in the row behind them, were fast asleep, their heads against the windows. Yet she and Toshiro found no such relief, but he seemed so distracted.

He never had been one for conversation she supposed.

"What do you think of it?" she asked, fruitlessly hoping he'd somehow get the message that she was bored and wanted to talk. Keeping quiet only left her to her depressing thoughts, and she'd rather avoid that at all costs.

"Not very impressive," he stated. "Much slower than the ways in which we shinigami travel." He sighed then and she frowned. She honestly couldn't tell if he was irritated with her or just brooding in general. Well, she could always just ask she supposed, but what were the odds he'd reply with a real answer? She kind of had a little bit of an idea as to why he was so down, yet if she asked he might… get angry with her.

He was mad most of the time anyway though…

"Toshiro?" she started without looking at him, though she could feel his turquoise gaze on her this time. "Thank you for… for taking our side. I know it was hard for you, what with having to give up your position and everything, and I'm sure you left behind family and friends too…"

"Not really," he stated simply and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, obviously waiting for him to elaborate. He sighed. "I don't have a whole lot of friends in Soul Society, and even fewer family members." Turning her face to him fully, she remained quiet, hoping that maybe he'd continue. She didn't know a whole lot about him after all. Their eyes met in turn and his mouth tightened into a frown. "I grew up an orphan in Rukongai in the district of Junrinan, so I don't have any real family." She furrowed her eyebrows curiously. "It's a place outside of Seireitei," he stated, "where all the plus souls live." She nodded in vague understanding. "In any case, I was taken in by an older woman and another girl that lived with her. I guess you could say they're the equivalent of my grandmother and older sister."

"Really?" Karin smiled. "That's nice. I never picture you as the type to be a younger sibling." His brow twitched in irritation. "Were they mad when you left?" His face immediately sobered, his gaze flashing to the ground, and Karin was suddenly under the impression that she had said something wrong.

"I didn't speak with them," he replied coldly. "My life is very separate from Gran now, so I hardly see her more than a few times a year anyway. And as for… well it doesn't matter." He clamped his mouth shut, his eyes lifting to stare straight ahead at the seat in front of him. Karin frowned.

"Of course it matters," she stated and crossed her arms over her chest. "So maybe you didn't have a lot of friends in Soul Society," he glanced over at her again, "but I'm your friend, so you can tell me. I won't judge, I promise." The smile returned to her face. "You can trust me Toshiro, really, you can." He narrowed his eyes at her as silence fell between them once again.

Truth be told, he hadn't talked to anyone about this since… well since things had started to go wrong. He'd never been the type to allow others into his problems; he dealt with them on his own. Yet here she was, encouraging him to do something he never had. And for whatever reason he was actually considering it. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but he felt as though she was somehow on the same wavelength that he was. Maybe it had to do with how much they had in common, their swords, their status as prodigies in the shinigami arts. Even their age was similar despite how he denied it. As far as Soul Society was concerned, he was still a child, and now that she was a soul type being, their ages were equivalent, even if he had lived some hundred years longer than she. They'd age at the same pace now. And it was nice really, having someone he could relate to. Not before had someone like himself entered Soul Society, and granted, their situation wasn't preferable, but it was what they were stuck with. And he was slightly comforted to know that, if Soul Society ever did realize the mistake they were making, she'd be welcomed there and he wouldn't be… _so_ alone anymore.

It was immature and stupid, he knew that, but he couldn't ignore it all the time. People wondered why he was so cold, but they brought it on themselves. All through school and his training as a shinigami, he'd been harassed and poked fun at. It didn't matter that he was a genius or a prodigy. On the contrary, those facts only seemed to instigate more trouble. For some reason his age, his lineage, his appearance, it all drew unwanted attention. It wasn't until he'd been made a captain that his peers had kept their comments to themselves, deciding to only whisper them behind his back instead of to his face. He wasn't sure which was worse really. In any case, he didn't warm up to people because most of the time it proved fruitless and… fake.

But Karin… she was like him. At first he'd been skeptical. His status as a brilliant individual was the only defense he had against the outside world and its cruelty; he hadn't wanted to share the title with anyone else. Yet now, now that he'd helped her train and progress, he wasn't so sure those feelings were justified. Being the only one was nice, elevating in way, but being alone got… well lonely. With her around though, with someone that finally seemed to understand the pressures he dealt with, it made the world a far less hollow place.

It was nice he realized, having something in common with someone.

And now she was claiming to be his friend, that he could trust her. What a foreign concept in his life. He didn't trust anyone with his feelings, not Rangiku, who he recognized as a friend (though never out loud), not Hinamori, not Ukitake, not Gran, no one. Yet the thought of finally releasing that sadness and grief, the guilt, it was so alluring. He'd always worn an outwardly strong mask, and removing that weight was so…

But even if she was his "friend," they didn't recognize the term in the same light. Karin had a lot of "friends;" she had Lilynette and Yuzu, and her friends from school. He didn't want to be lumped into that group. Friendship to him was something far more selective than it was to her. He had very few of said relationship, and, yes, Karin was his friend he supposed, one of the few he had, but if she didn't realize how big of a step that was between them, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to open up to her.

His heart sank in his chest as a stupid, childish, dark thought flitted across his mind. It was times like these that he was suddenly reminded of how young and inexperienced he really was. He wanted Karin's friendship to himself.

It was beyond idiotic, but it was true. He _wanted_ to open up to her, but she opened up to others so easily… it almost made him jealous. He'd never had anyone in his life that was _just_ his. Hinamori had been just _his_ friend for a long time, but she'd left him behind. And even when he'd caught up to her, things had changed. They'd never be able to be as open with each other as when they were younger.

He wanted that kind of feeling back. He wanted someone that knew his secrets and he in turn knew all theirs, but no one else did. He wanted that… that feeling of absolute trust, that feeling of being special to someone in a way that no one else was.

But Karin… she didn't get that. Her innocence, her family life, it allowed her to love others in a way he could not. They had so much in common, but alas their differences it seemed still created too large a canyon to breach.

Unless he could be her _best_ friend, then their relationship would progress no further.

"I said it doesn't matter," he stated coldly, his eyes leaving hers once again. He saw her frown and sink back in her seat, and he saw the obvious feelings of betrayal in her eyes, but… he just… couldn't tell her.

Pouting, the darker Kurosaki twin stared at the side of his head with narrowed eyes. What was his deal anyway? Why was he always so prickly? Here she thought she'd finally found an opening, yet as soon as she'd seen the light, it had vanished. Why didn't he trust her? It didn't make any sense and it frustrated her to no end because her lack of knowledge about him made it difficult to find any answers.

Their relationship was so formal and it annoyed her greatly. But she'd noticed that he was like that with almost everyone. It didn't seem to matter how much time they spent together, he never saw her as more than… well she didn't know what he thought of her. She hoped it wasn't as a nuisance, but she could never be sure.

What could she do to get him to understand that he didn't have to be so closed off all the time?

"What is your deal?" she asked, her patience finally wearing thin. "I just said you could trust me, I won't tell anyone or anything." His lips tightened once again into a frown. She was missing the point. "I won't even tell Lilynette or Yuzu."

And that was when she saw it. That is, the slight flash in his eyes.

It had been quick and hardly noticeable, in fact she was lucky she'd seen it at all, but suddenly everything seemed to make sense. He wasn't refusing to tell her because he didn't trust her; he was doing it because he was a silly, stupid boy with a jealously complex. The way his turquoise gaze had flicked to Lilynette when she'd brought her up, and the obvious distaste he'd only momentarily exhibited…

She knew it wasn't Lilynette that he disliked. No, it was more like he didn't like how close the two girls were to each other.

She smirked and he stared at her suspiciously.

"How about this," she began smugly, her voice quieter. "I'll tell you something I've never told _anyone_, not even Yuzu or Lilynette, if you promise you'll tell me whatever it is you're keeping from me. One secret for another, how about that?"

He frowned.

"It's not nearly that simple," he replied coldly despite how his curiosity was piqued. "My life isn't as effortless as exchanging secrets." She raised an eyebrow at him disapprovingly.

"I didn't say it was," she rolled her eyes. "What did you think I meant, that I'd admit I was secretly afraid of the dark or something? Which I'm not, by the way. I'm being dead serious. I'll tell you something I've never told anyone, ever, one of those kinds of secrets that's supposed to stay closed up forever. Something… complicated, with gravity." He stared at her silently.

Was she being serious? He couldn't imagine she even had such a secret. She was far too innocent to harbor anything relatively close to what he did. But if she did tell him, he'd be forced to make the exchange. Well, he wouldn't be _forced_ to do anything. He could always make something up. Or be extremely vague.

He kind of wanted to know though…

He shrugged nonchalantly and turned away from her. "I'll think about it," he stated simply. Glaring, Karin huffed angrily and fell silent. So much for that, what a boring plane ride she had to look forward to.

Boys were so dumb.

**oOo**

"Man, these seats are so cramped," the redhead yawned, his arms stretching to the low ceiling of the aircraft. "I can't believe I've been reduced to this, travelling and hiding like a human. I'm a lieutenant, this is completely disgraceful."

"Was," his partner corrected as she stared up at him. "Was a lieutenant." He frowned and nodded, his hands falling to his thighs as his shoulders slumped. "You gave up everything you had in Soul Society when you agreed to this."

"I know, I know," he replied and they fell silent once again. Of course, something had been itching at his consciousness since they'd left. Might as well ask her. "So Rukia," he started and she glanced over at him, eyebrows raised. "Why didn't you go with Ichigo?" She didn't look at all surprised by this inquiry and instead turned her head back towards the window.

"Their group was already too big," she argued without looking at him. "It would have been too risky adding more to it." Her long time friend wasn't convinced. Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited for her to give him the real reason. "Besides," slowly, her violet gaze fell on him once again, "if I was with Ichigo, there's no way he'd let me do what I have planned."

"Let you?" Renji cocked an eyebrow. "Rukia, I'm pretty sure he couldn't stop you from doing anything." Eyes falling to the floor, she appeared thoughtful.

"He would have in this case," she replied and shook her head slightly. "He's so inconsiderate of everyone else's feelings, he'd never understand." She sighed, "but you Renji… you feel the exact same way that I do." Narrowing his eyes at her, he felt his insides tingling with curiosity. "You're just as tired as I am of not being able to do anything…"

"What are you planning?" he asked suspiciously. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes momentarily before finally catching his gaze again. And there he saw that trademark determination she was known for.

"We're not going to stay in Cape Town for very long," she replied. "Once we're there, we need to drop our gigai's and do things in a little bit more of a riskier fashion." She paused only momentarily to gather her thoughts. "We have some people we need to find, but before even that, I'm going to need your help with something else. I got some materials from Urahara that should… make things easier."

Lips tightening, the former member of squad six considered her words. Yes, he knew exactly what she was getting at. And as he sat back in his seat, he calmed his nerves. If they were going to do this, he needed to start preparing himself as soon as he could, and that meant he had to have as much mental control as possible.

So he closed his eyes and cleared his head.

**oOo**

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" the dark skinned woman crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at her best friend with quizzical brows. "There were plenty of other places we could have sent them to." He stared up at her innocently from under his green striped hat.

"Not with that population density," he argued though it was rather obvious his defense was weak. "Besides, you know them. They'll need the distraction. They'll probably drive each other crazy on the plane ride alone." Still she wasn't at all convinced.

"Again, there were plenty of other-"

"And there's another reason," he interrupted as he popped a chip into his mouth. "I did some research recently and as it turns out that area has the thickest wall between the human world and Hueco Mundo, and Soul Society for that matter. Of course, once things return to normal across the world, everything will even out, but until then, the dense population of that area appears to have acted like a buffer for spirit particles." She cocked an eyebrow curiously. "It's kind of like a net. So with that, they have a better chance of staying hidden."

Pursing her lips, she sat back, not entirely sure whether she believed him or not. "Well what about that other one, Rukia," she started again and the blonde man at the window seat had to wonder if she was just trying to pick a fight with him. "She came to you about something before we left, what did she want?"

"Oh nothing in particular," he replied nonchalantly with a shrug. "Just some old stuff I had lying around from a while ago."

"I'm sure," she replied and shook her head. "You know Urahara, sometimes I wonder if you _want_ to get imprisoned for the rest of your life. Every time you act on anything, we end up in situations like this. I'm growing kind of tired of getting dragged into it." The scientist frowned, apparently offended.

"You'd leave me?" he asked pathetically. She in turn sighed, huffed, and pointedly ignored him for the rest of the plane ride.

**oOo**

"This… is bullshit," throwing his bag to the ground in anger, the blue haired teenager growled. "I mean, c'mon, if what four eyes said is true, he could have done _way_ better than this." His opinion was actually rather universal.

"I have a name," the Quincy replied as he shoved his glasses further up on his nose. "And you know we're supposed to stay down low. What were you expecting? That he would have put us up in one of those huge, fancy, gambling hotels like the ones we passed on the way here? Because _that_ wouldn't have been asking for trouble."

"You said it yourself that this place was supposed to be some huge hotel capital," the sixth fired back. "You know I'm right. I mean c'mon, this place's name is even lame. I mean, what the fuck, Econolodge? What does that even mean?"

"Well," the dark haired book worm fired back, "I suppose it stands for economical lodging, if your small brain can understand that concept." He shook his head and shoved his glasses back up on his nose. "I swear, you're just like Ichigo."

"What did you just say?" the orange haired shinigami glared at Uryu as he stepped out of the bathroom. He looked rather affronted.

"Yeah, what the hell does that mean?" Grimmjow crossed his arms over his chest as he glared. "I'm nothing like that idiot, so don't even _try_ and compare us." From there, Ichigo in turn yelled at his rival for calling him an idiot and they commenced in their regular bickering.

Together, Ulquiorra and Uryu sighed.

"I don't know how I'm going to live like this," the Quincy muttered and shook his head. His companion in turn remained silent, his green eyes ever void of emotion. But he was silently asking himself the same question. Why Urahara had reserved this hotel he didn't understand. It was obviously too small to accommodate all of them, even with two rooms. There were only two beds in each room and a tiny bathroom. Not to mention, the bedspreads were a terribly ugly flower pattern.

No, as soon as there night here was up, they'd need to find alternate sleeping arrangements.

"Um," Orihime poked her head in the room, "could we have the key to the other room?" She smiled awkwardly. The arguing ceased then as Tatsuki leaned against the doorframe next to her best friend, and behind them loomed the giant known as Chad.

"Well before we do anything else," Uryu replied, "let's figure out who's going where, that way we're not dragging bags into rooms where they don't need to be." Glancing between each other, the two females of the posse shared some unreadable message and the redhead smiled uneasily.

"Well, actually," she started as she stared down at the floor, "we kind of already decided on… on our room." Tatsuki nodded in agreement and her blue haired boyfriend cast her a suspicious eye.

"Since there are seven of us and only four beds, obviously we're going to have to share," the karate champion started. "And so as to avoid any kind of discomfort by anyone, Orihime and I have already decided that we're taking one bed… and since Chad is so big, we figured he could have the other one in our room."

Silence.

"Are you saying," Ichigo started quietly, "that I have to share a room with _him_?" He pointed a rude finger at the sixth, who didn't seem at all pleased with the situation either. None of them did actually. Uryu was looking rather deflated and Ulquiorra strangely disappointed.

"Yup!" Tatsuki stated as she leaned over and snatched the card key to the room next door right out of Uryu's hand. "So have fun guys!" And with that, she pulled Orihime from the door and pranced out of sight. And before any of the males could object, they heard the three traitor's crowd into the room next door and close the door.

Again, an eerie silence fell over the group. Slowly, Ichigo turned to Grimmjow who had done the same to him. And as their eyes met, the same thoughts started running through their heads.

Snapping into action, the two rivals dived for the nearest bed.

"There is no fucking way I'm sleeping in the same bed as you!" the sixth hissed as he shoved his hand into the orange haired shinigami's face. "So get the hell off, you're sleeping on the floor!"

"Bullshit I am!" Ichigo growled as he shoved the hand out of his face and tried to forcefully push his blue haired counterpart off the bed, the bedspread crumpling as they fought. "I got in the room before you did, so that's automatic dibs on a bed!"

"I stepped into the country before you did!" the sixth argued as he grabbed the headboard of the bed to keep his body from falling, for it was an unspoken rule that whoever fell off first lost.

"I got on the plane first!"

"I got back to Harribel's first!"

"You _live_ there!" Ichigo twisted the foot that was suddenly thrust towards his face. "And besides, Harribel was my mother first so I win no matter what you say, asshole!"

"I find it interesting," Uryu sighed as they continued to throw irrelevant facts at each other, "that there are two beds, yet they insist on fighting over only one." And as if on cue, the glass shielded eyes of the Quincy caught a pair of green ones. Between them was the other bed.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Ulquiorra turned to face the other dark haired man. He in turn shoved his spectacles farther up on his nose before crossing his arms casually over his chest. Neither spoke, yet there was a tense kind of space between them, hovering precariously over the bed.

Unlike their other two roommates, Uryu and Ulquiorra were determined not to show such stupidity. They would not fight over something as minuscule as sleeping arrangements, they were bigger men then that. One of them would come up with a viable reason for having the bed, thus their problem would be solved.

Alas though, neither could come up with a reason why one of them should be forced to occupy the floor so the silence between them continued to stretch as they stared with distaste at each other.

Yes, Ulquiorra was fully aware that the Quincy didn't like him. As soon as the news of his relationship with his Woman has surfaced, the Quincy had stared at him with hate. He didn't really blame him he supposed; it was obvious he harbored serious feelings for the redhead. Yet that didn't mean he was going to be nice to him.

Similar thoughts had been running through the Quincy's head, though they weren't along quite the same wavelength, but he still cleared his throat and started speaking. "We're both mature enough to handle this situation as adults." Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes; he knew he was being challenged. "I have no desire to sleep on the floor, and I don't think you do either. The bed is more than big enough for the both of us. So long as you stay on your side and I on mine, then I see no issue here."

"I agree," the fourth replied and thus their rivalry was sealed. It was not of the same type as Ichigo and Grimmjow. No, unlike those two, they would not fight or smack each other around. Instead, they would simply put up with what was obviously the most agreeable situation. Neither wanted to do so, but they refused to fight over such minuscule things. And in the end, whoever was unable to put up with the other would lose.

Neither knew how long this silent battle would last, but both were determined to do away with the other one way or another. So with this in mind, they broke eye contact and focused on other duties, preparing for bed being one of them.

"I've been human longer, and you can't beat that, so ha!" Ichigo pointed an accusing finger at the blue haired teenager lunging at him.

"Bullshit!" the sixth yelled as he grabbed the shinigami by the hair and tried to throw him off the bed, and failed. "I was a human years before you were."

"That doesn't count!"

"I'm going end up killing both of them before this is over," Uryu sighed as he walked into the bathroom.

**oOo**

"I apologize," bending low, she stared at the floor, not daring to meet the gaze of the bearded man above her. "The stealth force has failed to locate them. Every single spiritually powerful being has vacated Karakura without a trace." How, she didn't know, but all their reiatsu had vanished. The town held nothing that would help them, at least not any evidence that she would know how to look for.

"Rise and return to your place," the old man ordered and, without even flinching, the captain of squad two stood and backed up into the line of her peers occupying the room. "This is obviously very unfortunate," he started gruffly. "They have all gone into hiding. Alas, this is a matter of security so they must be found." It was very apparent that the Head Captain was livid with their failure. "I hereby order all captains to focus their attention on finding the wanted criminals now inhabiting the human world."

"I don't mean to ask an inappropriate question," Captain Ukitake stepped forward, "but when it was stated that every being inhabiting Karakura… well, who and how many exactly does that account for? And if it does in fact include them all, does that mean we are to _pursue_ them all?" A few glances were thrown to Soi Fon for answers.

"Yes, this includes all of them," she replied. "As well as the rumored hollow bodies, Ichigo Kurosaki, the treacherous shinigami, and the humans they affiliate themselves with, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihoin, and their companions, as well as Isshin Kurosaki, have all disappeared."

"In that case," Yamamoto started, "it is safe to assume that they are also involved in this. They are to be hunted down along with the rest of them. If at all possible, when we find them, bring them back alive, but if they prove to be too dangerous, you are all given permission to execute them on sight." Kenpachi smiled.

"I have a question as well," the pink clad captain of squad eight raised his hand casually. "If they have gone into hiding, are we even sure they're still in human world? Certainly, where hollow are involved, the most logical place to go would be Hueco Mundo, no?"

"How insulting," Captain Kurotsuchi interjected. "Certainly you are not assuming that my people missed garganta being opened? Should they have fled to such a place, we would have known about it, that I assure you."

"We will look in the human world before discussing any other alternatives," the Head Captain continued. "If this search proves fruitless, we will then consider other options. Until that time, you all have your orders. I expect results." Apparently deeming the meeting over, the bearded man turned on his heel and left the room through a back door.

"Well this will fun," already smiling, the captain of squad eleven appeared absolutely sadistic. "These guys are supposed to be strong, huh? And Ichigo's with em.' I've been looking for a reason to fight him again, looks like luck is on my side after all." He was cast a few looks of disgust as they slowly filed out of the room.

"This is unbelievable," Hisagi muttered as he pushed the door open. "This situation has gotten completely out of control."

"I completely agree," Jushiro stated as he came up behind the new captain. "I have to wonder what Captain Hitsugaya would have said in his report should the situation not have been so jumpy. Certainly he must have a viable reason for doing what he is. I can't imagine he would have left Soul Society with Gin Ichimaru, of all people, if he didn't."

"True, very true," Shunsui sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm honestly afraid of what we'll find. Captain Hitsugaya warned us that they were powerful. And if these are in fact the Espada we dealt with before… I'm not sure I want to revisit that battle. Not to mention having to fight some of our own." He shook his head. "Maybe we need to think about this a little longer."

"There's nothing to think about," the twelfth captain cackled as he walked by, seeming much too pleased. "Orders are orders." And with that he left the displeased group behind. Flashing into the air, he found himself outside his own barracks. "Nemu!" he yelled impatiently and waited only a second before growling. "Where are you, you useless dullard?"

"Here sir," she stated quietly as she flashed up next to him.

"You're too slow," he muttered as he walked his way inside the building. "I have orders for you." Following behind him, the somewhat scantily clad female waited patiently. "Seems we have full permission to hunt down those traitors and their hollow friends in the world of the living. I want those Espada alive at all costs, but in order for that to happen, we have to beat all the other captains to them." Turning to his lieutenant, he stared down at her greedily. "I want you to find them Nemu, find them as quickly as possible and without much notice." She nodded and he frowned. "If you don't and my spoils are squandered, I may just have to have you ripped limb from limb again," he frowned. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes Sir," she replied with a slight bow. "I'll find them as quickly as my capabilities allow." Nodding in approval, her master turned from her again and, after staring at his back for only half a second, the woman vanished from sight, set on her mission.

**oOo**

"What now?" sinking down into his seat, the tall man cocked an eyebrow at his partner skeptically. "Another one of your plans backfired, no fighting. Seems you fail a lot Szayel." The pink haired man pursed his lips and attempted to ignore his companions taunting.

"I didn't fail," he replied curtly as he stared down at his examination table. "They may have figured that part out, but there was only a slight chance that they wouldn't. In any case, come see, I have in fact made some progress." Rolling his eyes, Nnoitra stood (he'd only just sat down, how annoying) and walked over. "You see? Slowly but surely, progression has resumed."

"Looks the same to me," the dark haired hollow replied as he itched his cheek. "You ever figure out why it's transparent?" Again, the pink haired man appeared irritated. Could the fifth do nothing other than bring up the bad points of his plan?

"Not yet, but once I begin to speed things up again, I believe the answer may be revealed to me." Turning, he walked from the table and stared up at some of the monitors lining the wall. "You may not be able to see it, but this whole situation has in fact had an effect. Negative emotions are shivering all around them, and with a little push, if those are only slightly intensified…" He narrowed his eyes.

Then everything will fall into place.

**oOo**

"Bout damn time you woke up," blinking his eyes open, the fourth stared blearily around the room. "Ever since four eyes left, I been the only one up for like, two hours. It's almost noon." Glancing over at his brother, Ulquiorra witnessed him sitting up in bed, his eyes glued to a small television as he continue to ramble on about nothing. Next to him, still buried in the sheets, was Ichigo, only a bit of his orange hair apparent above the covers.

Despite their heated battle the night before, the two rivals had decided that, like Uryu and Ulquiorra, they would try sharing. It seemed to have been somewhat of a success, though there had been a few times during the night when the calmer two of the four had been awakened by swearing and inappropriate accusations from both Grimmjow and his orange haired bedmate.

"Where has Uryu gone?" he asked drowsily as he threw the comforter from his form and began climbing out of bed. Rubbing the sleep from his green eyes, he wondered if, like Ichigo, he should still be sleeping.

"Eh," the blue haired teen looked to the wall clock. "He left around nine. Pet came over and wondered if anyone was interested in walking around town with her since I guess Tatsuki and Chad are still sleeping. So they're out wandering around I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly as his younger brother slowly turned his head to once again stare at his brother. "What? What's the problem?"

"Why was I not woken up?" he asked heatedly and Grimmjow cocked a single eyebrow at him. "I would have been more than willing to accompany her." Standing, he stomped his way over to his bag and started rummaging through it grumpily. "This whole situation is trash," he continued quietly as he hunted around for appropriate clothes.

"I dunno what the hell _your_ problem is," the sixth stated defensively as he glanced back at the television, "but you couldn't have gone with her anyway. We're going searching for appropriate training areas whenever Fuckberry decides to wake up and I didn't know when they'd be back. And besides, I thought I was doing you a favor. You hate being woken up." Pulling a shirt, jeans, and boxers from his suitcase, the fourth ignored his brother's excuses in favor of going inside the bathroom and slamming the door.

Loudly.

Gasping, Ichigo raised his head up out of bed, his brown eyes wide. "Catnip!" he exclaimed and Grimmjow gaped at him stupidly. Shaking his head, the young shinigami blinked a few times, seeming somewhat confused.

"What the hell were you dreaming about?" the sixth asked and his bed partner turned to him, seeming rather befuddled. Thus Grimmjow determined he must not remember. "In any case, I'm glad you're awake." Cocking an eyebrow at his rival, Ichigo had the feeling he wouldn't like where this was going. "I just came up with a _great_ idea." Turning so he was sitting up, Ichigo waited as he crossed his arms over his chest suspiciously. "Ulqui-emo just got in the shower," he started, "and I don't know about you, but the way he was beating the shit out of us the other day really pissed me off, so I find this to be a very opportune moment."

"_Really_?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes as a grin slowly climbed onto his face. It wasn't very often that his grumpy façade was interrupted, but this… this was worth it. "Now that you bring it up, I _was_ kind of irritated…" A sadistically devious smile crawled across Grimmjow's face and, after a few more seconds of silent contemplation, the two burst from the bed.

"Here, you get his bag," Ichigo stated quietly as he zipped up the case and tossed it to his rival. Catching it skillfully, Grimmjow set it down near the door before he started packing up his own suitcase and Ichigo's, all lose clothes tossed precariously into either one. Luckily, Uryu's was already packed up neatly.

"What are you doing?" the blue haired man hissed as he watched Ichigo, clad in only a white t-shirt and boxers, start to viciously rip the sheets and blankets from the beds. Glancing up, he paused and stared at the sixth like he was stupid.

"We have to get anything and everything cloth out of his reach," he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world before he commenced once again in stripping the beds. "Take all those cases over to Tatsuki and Chad's room." Despite not enjoying being ordered around, Grimmjow did as he was told for the sake of the mission. Dragging everything out the door, he knocked loudly next door.

Luckily, Chad was awake and he was able to toss the luggage into the room before dashing back over to his own. He met Ichigo on the way as the orange haired shinigami lugged all the bed coverings next door as well. And soon they both found themselves back in their sparse room while Chad stood at his door scratching his head, but not daring to ask any questions.

"Is that all the stuff from in here?" Grimmjow asked quietly as he started opening all the drawers and cabinets. "No pillows or magazines or anything left?" Ichigo shook his head as he slowly toed towards the bathroom. Deciding to trust the shinigami, the sixth came up behind him. Thankful that the door appeared to be regularly greased, they slid it open silently. Glancing at each other, they nodded once before entering.

It was cramped and they could feel their hearts beating in their chests as they slowly hunted around the room. Luckily, the shower curtain was a nasty tan color, not transparent, so they weren't visible.

Bending down, Grimmjow grabbed up his brothers dirty and clean clothes as Ichigo harnessed all the rooms towels and wash cloths. Holding the large bundles in their arms, they glanced nervously at the shower before slowly beginning their exit. But with a silent gasp, Ichigo stopped abruptly and Grimmjow almost ran him over. Turning swiftly, the orange haired teenager stared at his rival with wide eyes.

"_What_?" Grimmjow mouthed as Ichigo's lips tightened. Nodding back towards the room, he seemed rather insistent on something.

"_Toilet paper_," the shinigami mouthed back. At first the sixth was confused and Ichigo scowled, but after a few seconds the importance of said object hit him. Dumping Ulquiorra's clothes in Ichigo's arms, he turned to the bathroom cabinet as the orange haired teenager dashed out and to the room next door.

Harvesting the three spare rolls under the sink, he then set to removing the last one from its roller. It didn't take long and with a silent cackle he dashed from the room. Meeting Ichigo next door, he threw the paper onto the nearest bed before facing his partner in crime.

And upon seeing each other, they giggled like little school girls.

"What the hell is going on?" Tatsuki asked irritably as she walked out of the bathroom clad in a tank top and shorts. However, both delinquent boys were too excited to answer her and instead continued plotting.

"We have to lure him outside," Grimmjow whispered despite not having to. But it added to the excitement of it all. "C'mon, we'll leave the door open so he'll be enticed to leave. You wait here and when he comes out, I'll push him to the side, close the door to our room, and run back here."

"Good plan," Ichigo replied as he bit his bottom lip in anticipation. Nodding, the blue haired teenager quickly went outside and opened the door to their own room before rushing back. Gluing themselves to the wall separating the two rooms, the boys listened, waving Tatsuki off and shushing her as they waited.

Obviously curious, the karate champion and her dark skinned roommate joined the two giddy boys at the wall just in time to hear the shower opposite shut down. Covering their mouths, the rivals held back the laughter that was about to burst from their mouths.

It was silent for a moment before they all heard a somewhat audible "_What the fuck_?" come through the wall, at which point Ichigo and Grimmjow did start giggling. A smile snuck its way onto Tatsuki's face as she stared between them, still somewhat clueless, but starting to piece together what was going on.

"Shhh," Grimmjow hissed as he pressed his ear to the wall again. Ichigo silenced himself immediately, though both were still smiling uncontrollably. "He's going through all the drawers," Grimmjow narrated. "You got everything, right?" Ichigo appeared slightly thoughtful before his face dropped, his complexion paling. Grimmjow frowned.

"I forgot to grab that bible that was in the second drawer of the dresser," he replied. Raising an eyebrow, the sixth and his shinigami companion considered the mistake before both of them burst out into laughter again. It didn't last long however. "Quick, we have to wait for him to come out." Racing to the door, they stuck their heads around just enough to see the outside world. Luckily, each room opened up into the early morning air, making their prank all the more hilarious.

"You actually think he'll come out?" Ichigo whispered as his eyes travelled upward, Grimmjow was leaning over him as they waited. But alas no one appeared and as the seconds ticked by, the two grew increasingly more impatient. "Just go toss him out and shut the door," the orange haired shinigami stated quietly.

"Good idea," Grimmjow replied and, pouncing out, he swiftly entered the room next door. Shutting his own door, Ichigo leaned up so he could peer out the peephole. And just in time too. Laughing, he listened and watched as Ulquiorra, yelling shortly, was thrown out the door by his older brother before a slamming was heard nearby.

"Wow, you guys are really funny," the green eyed teenager stated loudly as both Ichigo and Grimmjow burst into guffawing laughter, no longer concerned with whether they were heard or not. Standing outside their rooms was none other than the fourth Espada as bare as the day he was born. He hadn't even found the bible before Grimmjow had thrown him out, thus he stood out in the open, a single hand cupping his manhood as he used the other to knock loudly on the door Grimmjow sat behind.

"Oh my god!" Tatsuki stated as she pulled the curtains aside to the window. She started laughing then too and as Chad peered over her shoulder, he even had to release a slight smile. "You guys are so mean!" she accused through giggles. "Oh god, look," she pointed out the window and Ichigo dumped himself next to her as he tried to find what so urgent.

Across the parking lot, a whole family, two parents and three young children, had just climbed out of their SUV. Slapping his hand to his mouth, the orange haired shinigami watched with wide eyes as ever so slowly, a little girl cocked her head to the side, furrowed her brows, and pointed towards their rooms. Saying something, it wasn't long until the mother of the group had walked around to find out what was wrong.

Gasping, she bent down and covered her daughter's eyes with her hand, a stricken look encompassing her face.

Glancing over to Ulquiorra, they continued laughing as he turned to the family, his face dark and completely void of emotion, other than the slight pink of his cheeks, as he stared back at the innocent, confused passerby's.

Sliding the window open a crack, Ichigo wolf whistled. Immediately turning his head, the fourth narrowed his eyes at the shinigami, murderous intent obvious in every fleck of his green orbs.

"Open the door trash," he hissed. Unfortunately, laughter was the only response he got and, huffing, his frown deepened. This was by far the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to him. Honestly, it shouldn't bother him. He was in no way ashamed of his body, he had nothing to feel so disgraced about, but for some reason he did and it made him want to strangle both Grimmjow and Ichigo.

Apparently having opened his window as well, Grimmjow yelled out to them. "Any of you guys over there got a camera?" Tatsuki yelled back that she did in fact have one. Dashing over to her bag, she retrieved it and snapped a few pictures, much to Ulquiorra's growling displeasure.

"Okay, okay," Ichigo calmed slightly as he reached into his bag and pulled out his wallet. Retrieving a single dollar (they'd transferred the currency before getting on the plane), he turned back to the window. "I'll let you in," he stuck the bill between two finger and out the window, "after you walk across the parking lot to that vending machine and get me an orange soda."

"You cannot be fucking serious," the fourth deadpanned, his shoulders dropping.

Ichigo waved the dollar enticingly. "I dunno, I just woke up and I'm pretty thirsty," Grimmjow could be heard laughing across the way. "And I mean, I think you owe me this much. Let's see," the shinigami stared at the ceiling in feigned thoughtfulness. "You kidnapped Inoue, you tried to kill me three or four times, you repeatedly call me trash, you-"

"Fine!" he uttered as he snatched the bill through the window. Without another word, he turned from the group and started stalking across the lot, his hand still held self-consciously between his legs. And as he passed the family, all of whom were gawking at him, he stopped and glared, and they flinched back.

"This is hilarious," Tatsuki bit her lip and giggled, the camera held out before her as she documented the former Espada's progress. His pale skin was bright in the sunlight, almost seeming to shimmer since he was wet, and as he stuffed the dollar into the machine, they waited in baited breath.

It all seemed to take longer than was actually necessary. He stood, motionless, before the machine as the pop was dispensed into the container near the base of the appliance. And as he bent down to retrieve it, they all burst into laughter once again. Hearing them, he pursed his lips, infuriated, before turning and stomping his way back over, the infamous family still watching him with gaping mouths.

He was going to kill them.

Every single one.

Arriving once again at the window, he was still frowning as he held up the soda by its cap. Ichigo in turn raised a single eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, obviously displeased.

"I don't want that now," he stated and Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You just shook it up. I'm not going to drink something that's going to explode all over me." Taking a deep breath, the fourths hand dropped once again to his side.

"You are playing a very dangerous game Ichigo Kurosaki," he threatened, his eyes turning a homicidal shade of green. "Let us not forget that I am, in fact, stronger than you." Frowning in actual displeasure, the orange haired teenager didn't appreciate this fact being brought into the situation.

"Oh let him in already," Tatsuki issued as she stared down at the little screen of her digital camera. "He's had enough." Shrugging and turning away, Ichigo didn't object and Chad stood. Walking over to the door, the large man swung it open and, trying to retain some of his dignity, the fourth walked in at a customarily slow pace.

Turning, brown eyes met green. Raising the soda, the fourth wasted no time in pulling it behind his head and chucking it forcefully at the shinigami. Eyes widening, Ichigo didn't have enough time to dodge the assault and the beverage collided with his face. Stumbling back, the bottle bounced to the floor and Ichigo brought his hand to his nose as blood trickled down to his lips.

"Son of a bitch!" he swore. "What the-"

Alas he was cut off as a firm hand grabbed his shirt and thrust him into the wall. Head bouncing against the drywall, he was rather rapidly face to face with the pale visage of the fourth Espada.

"Ever do anything like that to me again," the dark haired man whispered, "and I swear I will not hesitate to make every training session we have together as much like hell as possible." Brown eyes narrowing, the shinigami was about to rebuke when a gasp interrupted his thoughts. Glancing over his attackers shoulder, he saw a pair of wide silver eyes staring at them above a gaping mouth.

"Wha… what is going on?" she asked as her brow furrowed. Turning his head back just far enough to see her, Ulquiorra considered his position. Here he was, stark naked, pinning Ichigo, who was only clad in a thin shirt and boxers, against a wall. Yes, he could see why this might look a bit inappropriate.

"Nothing," he hissed as he released the shinigami. Casting him one last warning glance, he turned, not at all caring for modesty, grabbed up his clothes from a pile set precariously on the floor, and stalked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He'd had not the courage to see his Woman's stricken face, thus he'd leave it up to the others to explain what had happened.

"That…" Grimmjow leaned against the doorframe of the room, a pleased grin on his face, "was worth every bit he's going to beat the shit out of us." Smile returning to his face as well, Ichigo pushed himself from the wall and hunkered over to Grimmjow, where the two congratulated themselves on their awesomeness.

"I'm still confused," Orihime frowned as she glanced around at her friends.

"Come here," Tatsuki motioned to her best friend. "I got pictures." Furrowing her brows, the redhead joined her roommate on the bed as the karate champion grabbed her laptop and began the show.

Uryu stood near the door, his eyes narrowed. He'd left for just over two hours and madness had ensued. And it was only their first day together.

To say he was slightly uneasy was a bit of an understatement.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

Thank you Eelgirl for the awesome fanart :D I enjoyed it very much!

Poor Ulquiorra, I really do a lot of terrible things to him. But, well, Grimmjow seems like the type to bring out the worst in Ichigo. Needless to say, I think Ulquiorra may be the butt of many of their jokes. That's what siblings are for after all. Well, at least he has the training sessions to look forward to; he hasn't forgotten that Ichigo has instant regeneration after all. Too bad the fourth isn't quite devious enough to pull his own pranks.

And Las Vegas… that probably wasn't the wisest idea on Urahara's part, and I think he knows it too. Well I can't blame him, he probably just wanted them to have some fun, though they're all under age… this of course could mean they'll only get into more trouble. We'll have to wait and see.

I enjoy writing Toshiro's point of view. He's a very complicated character. I know some of you stated that you don't think of him as a child, but I personally feel that much of his personality does in fact portray his immaturity. He's always trying to act older, he constantly gets overly angry when insulted or when he doesn't get his way, he's insecure about his position. He tries really hard, don't get me wrong, but his maturity level just isn't where he thinks it is. In any case, it makes him fun to dissect. But what I don't understand is why people write about him and Karin being older. I figured their youth was the allure of HitsuKarin. I just like them because they're absolutely adorable. So don't expect anything overly graphic there, lol.

What in the world are Rukia and Renji plotting? Hmmm, very interesting…

Awwww, Grimmy and Ichi had to share a bed, isn't that cute? _I_ thought it was cute. Mostly because we all know they probably flail in their sleep and were probably constantly up in each other's space, the reason why they kept waking up and yelling at each other.

This story is NOT GrimmIchi, I must keep telling myself that…

And then there's Ulquiorra and Uryu. I know some of you are hesitant about me starting anything between them, but I feel like Ulquiorra has no… foil. Grimmjow and Ichigo have each other, but Ully is always so… alone. Of course he competes with Grimmjow, but alas, I feel as though Uryu would be a bigger challenge. I feel like their relationship would be something akin to Grimm and Ichi's, but less… loud. Just like Uryu and Ichigo compare to Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. See, they're all foils for each other, a happy foursome. Plus some of you wanted Uryu to have more face time, so be happy for he will. He is one of my fave characters after all (though I have to wonder if I just like them all…)

So this whole travelling business wasn't originally part of the story, it just hit me rather suddenly when I was writing the last chapter (I actually stopped writing, stared at the ceiling, and gaped at the awesomeness of the idea), but it gives a good opportunity for me to get things accomplished that I didn't know how I was originally going to fit in (like Rukia and Renji's adventure).

This story is going to be forever fucking long, it still has a ton left. I hope this is okay with everyone.

So I was really surprised at how many of you said you wanted to see the perspectives of all the characters in their selective areas. I guess I can elaborate on everyone's travels then (with Ulquihime of course still there) though I find that no matter how this story strays from the main couple, no one is ever overly upset about it, LOL! Well anyway, hope you liked the chapter, a lot happened yet at the same time they accomplished nothing.

Hmmm, what's up with that part about Nemu? Food for thought.

Wild kinds of Vegas love,

Toodles.

R&R PLEASE! I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS! I REALLY, REALLY DOOOOOO! As you can all see, I really appreciate your ideas and recommendations!

Sorry for the long author note, I don't know how many of you actually read them… maybe writing them is really just pointless, though I do present a lot of foreshadowing in them so I hope people read them, LOL!


	26. All's Fair in Love and War

**The Definition of Love**

_"I'm not **surprised**, not everything **lasts**_  
_I've **broken** my **heart** so many times, I stopped **keeping track**_  
_**Talk** myself **in**, I **talk** myself **out**_  
_I get all **worked up**, then I **let** myself **down**_

_I **tried** so very hard not to **lose** it_  
_I came up with a **million excuses**_  
_I thought, I thought of every **possibility**_

_And I know **someday** that it'll all **turn out**_  
_You'll make me **work**, so we can **work** to **work it out**_  
_And I **promise** you, kid, that I **give** so much more than I **get**_  
_I just haven't **met** you **yet**"_

_**Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble**  
_

**Chapter 26: All's Fair in Love and War **

"It's still snowing," she stated as she pressed her hands to the glass window. Frowning, a shiver ran up her spine and she closed her eyes, doing her best to ignore the cold. Thankfully she was inside for the time being.

"Stop looking at it!" her partner exclaimed and she turned swiftly to face him. He was staring at her disapprovingly, his hands on his hips as he snuggled more deeply into his stylishly printed scarf. "The more you keep bringing it up, the more depressing this experience _gets_ for _me_."

"What about me?" a muffled voice interjected from behind a load of boxes and bags. "I've been depressed since we set foot in this place. Lugging your guy's crap around isn't what I'd exactly call a great time."

"No one asked you Ikkaku," the overly pretty man replied without even looking at his captain, he was focused entirely on the green haired woman staring dejectedly at the window, her face continuing to drop with the snow. "I don't know what your problem is Nel, but this attitude is completely unacceptable." Hazel eyes drifting once again to her shopping partner, she faced his scolding with a pouting lip. "You have no reason to be unhappy, it's only our second day here and we've been shopping for most of it."

Blinking back tears, she stared at the bald man holding her bags. "But all I've gotten are _summer_ clothes," her lips quivered. "How am I supposed to enjoy them if it's _snowing_ all the time?" Huffing, the dark haired man strolled up to her and grabbed her hands in his own. Staring at her in determination, he did his best to keep her from getting too depressed.

"You must be strong Nel," he started and Ikkaku snorted as he rolled his eyes. "I know this is rough, I feel exactly the same way you do, but we must press forward!" He gripped her hands tighter as she stared up at him with big, hopeful eyes. "Summer clothes are much more flattering and form fitting, but alas we cannot depend on that." She nodded and stared back at the floor. "We will continue shopping and we will get the most stylish, beautiful winter wear this town has to offer." Nodding with more determination, the young woman stood up straighter. "Come Nel," Yumichika started back out of the food court and towards the stores, one of Nel's hands still held tightly in his own. "We will scour this mall until we have seen everything. And then we will use our findings to be the most stunning of everyone in this whole place. No one will be able to keep their eyes off of us." Still nodding, the Espada followed behind him, her bottom lip thrown forward with new resolve.

Ikkaku sighed and stood, his shoulders slumped as he started after the two. Nel had come with them so she could keep an eye out, yet the bald man felt like the babysitter instead. How stupid.

"There are still plenty of places to look and we have the rest of the day to-"

Eyes widening, the former lieutenant was halted mid speech as he was pulled back, his hold on his female companion never loosening, thus when she had come to a sudden stop he was thrown backwards. Facing her, he saw that she was staring up at a holiday display, one of her fingers placed curiously on her lip.

"Yumichika," she started as he came to her side, "what about the colors green and red? They go well together, don't they?" The dark haired man curled his lip as he stared at the gaudy Christmas tree before him decorated in said colors.

"Hardly," he replied as she turned to look at him. "Such colors are typically affiliated with the holidays, thus it is completely inappropriate to sport them outside of the season," he didn't notice her frown as he continued to ramble on. "In fact, even during this time of the year I would most ardently recommend not wearing them, it's never okay to show holiday cheer in that disgusting, gaudy fashion."

She was blinking back tears again and as he finished his explanation, he stared at her with a confused, gaping face.

"What now Nel?" he asked, distressed as she started to sniff. "What did I say?" Sinking to the ground, big droplets ran out of her eyes as she started to cry most viciously. Shaking his head, her companion sank down alongside her, their hands still held together most fiercely."Whatever it is I didn't mean it…" He was at a loss.

"If… if what you said is t-true," she balled, "then- then Renji and I… could _never_ be together!" Sobbing loudly, neither she nor Yumichika noticed the stares they were drawing from passing shoppers, but Ikkaku did and was forced to smile "pleasantly" and assure them that everything was, indeed, quite alright.

On the inside however, he was bound and determined to kill them both.

"Oh my goodness," the effeminate man gasped as he placed his hand on his chest. "I never even considered that you liked… Oh Nel, this is terrible, _terrible_ news." Frowning, he stroked her hair lovingly. "You're so beautiful, but if you were to be seen next to him, you'd be a walking fashion disaster!"

"_I know_!" she exclaimed before sobbing loudly once again. "I always thought my hair was what m-made me unique, but now it's only a h-h-hindrance!" She sniffed noisily. "I want to call Harribel…"

"No!" Yumichika stated loudly, determination set once again in his eyes. "This weakness is unacceptable!" She stared up at him, not entirely sure whether to be offended or inspired. "Your beauty is never, _never_, a hindrance. You do not have to change yourself for _any_ man!" Ikkaku narrowed his eyes, wasn't that phrase generally affiliated with things deeper than outward appearances? "If he can't handle how stunning you are, then you don't need him! He will do nothing but bring you down."

Tightening her lips, she drank in every word. "You're right!" she agreed and together they stood. "It's not my fault we don't match; I don't have to change to remedy that! I don't need him; I don't need any man for that matter!"

"Exactly!" Yumichika agreed. "Men are nothing but sloppy, useless bags of dirty skin!"

"Right!" she added. "Neither of us needs them!"

"No we don't!" he replied. "They're not worth it! Come along, we have shopping to accomplish. And this time we won't let what men will think sway out decisions. This time, we'll be stronger!"

"Yes!" she yelled and started after him.

Ikkaku blinked twice before sighing. He didn't know what god he had angered, but they were viciously torturing him now. Surely, if he made it out of this building alive, he'd be traumatized for however much longer his existence lasted.

But he doubted he'd make it out alive to begin with…

**oOo**

Eyes closed, he took steady breath after steady breath, the scented smoke of the incense wafting past his nostrils. It was a strong smell, one that brought back both pleasant and disturbing memories, one he only put on when he needed to relax the most, when he needed her guidance despite her absence. It had been her favorite back then. He remembered that she'd lit it every evening, and together they'd sit and watch the sun go down.

It hurt, truly it did. It strangled his heart, but with that pain he also found his mind clear, and with that hopefully he'd come to the correct course of action. Last time he had refused coming to her, he'd nearly made a terrible mistake, one that she never would have forgiven him for. He'd almost allowed her little sister to be executed. _His_ little sister.

Now, he was faced with a similar predicament.

Lifting his lids, his lips tightened as her smiling face greeted him. It was gentle, shy, and framed by dark locks. Unlike Rukia, she was soft, the curves of her face as calm as a feathers touch. She stared back at him and his heart warmed ever so slightly. Alas though, the feeling was quick to fade. Her face never changed, she didn't see his despair, the feelings he tried so very hard to hide yet couldn't in front of her. He was alone.

And she… she was dead.

"Hisana," he whispered, the warmth of his breath clouding the picture before him momentarily. "Again it seems I am to be tested. I won't rush in this time though, blinded by my own confusion. I've become a bit wiser since then. But our sister, she has turned her back on Soul Society yet again. She has been labeled a traitor for the second time." His gaze drifted downwards till it met the floor. "I want to believe she has her reasons, she isn't a fool, but at the same time…" He shook his head. "I have to find her, that is, before anyone else does. Perhaps she can verify to me why she has placed her name against the shinigami.

"She's a lot like you," his gaze flickered up once again. "You weren't as hot headed as she is, but she follows her heart, much like you used to. You wanted me to protect her, and I will do so to the best of my ability. Yet, if she continues to turn away from us…"

He didn't know what he'd do.

Standing, he closed the cabinet doors, his wife's face no longer able to look upon him. And as he turned on his heel, he placed once again across his face his typically cold and aloof expression. He'd shown his weakness, shown it only to her, and now it was time for action. He had a no lieutenant, no sister, and a family that would hardly help in his search seeing as it concerned the "bastard sister."

He was alone. It wasn't the first time and he didn't intend to dwell on it. He'd begin his hunt without fail. He'd find them, and when he did, he'd get to the bottom of this whole ordeal.

And he knew he'd succeed, for there was one reiatsu that couldn't hide from him.

**oOo**

"Okay," clapping her hands together, the redhead took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "I've been thinking. Mr. Urahara said that we have to stay hidden, which means I'm supposed to put up a shield where you guys fight, right?" The three teenagers nodded from their spots sitting on the bed of their hotel room. Grimmjow and Ichigo were still looking rather smug while Ulquiorra appeared much more down than usual. He wasn't having a good day thus far it seemed. "Well then," she huffed and smiled tightly. "Since that's the case, I want to try something."

"Try something?" Ichigo cocked his head to the side curiously. Grimmjow did the same and Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at her. What was she up to…?

"Yes!" she nodded her head once. "Ever since… well since you all fought, er… Ulquiorra's hollow," no one liked being reminded of _that_ battle, "I've been thinking about something that I did." Of course all their thoughts flitted to the transformation she'd somehow undergone. "And I don't mean what you're all thinking." Chad, Uryu, and Tatsuki glanced at each other uneasily from their positions around the room. It was never good when Orihime got "ideas." That generally meant someone was going to get food poisoning. "I'm thinking about before that, when I stopped that explosion."

"Oh yeah," Grimmjow replied and Ulquiorra listened silently. He honestly didn't have any idea what they were talking about, being stuck in his own head at the time and all. "That's the kind of shield you're going to put up, right?"

"Well… yes, kind of," she stated. "My power does block reiatsu, but, well, putting up a barrier that big would probably be kind of… draining after a few hours." They all frowned. "But when I blocked that explosion, I used my power in a way I didn't know I could." She smiled. "Instead of simply rejecting it, I actually covered the whole thing."

"That's right," Uryu stated as he pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "You created a completely enclosed bubble." She nodded vigorously.

"Exactly, and it was so weird because usually my shields are held up at three corners, but this one came together and encompassed all of the spirit particles from that explosion. You guys couldn't tell, but it was almost like… like a rubber band snapping. The three corners of the barrier came together and as soon as they touched, the whole thing just… popped into place." They were all peering at her curiously now. "But that's not even the whole thing. As soon as it was together, my Shun Shun Rikka came back; I didn't have control over it anymore."

"But it still held," Uryu crossed his arms over his chest thoughtfully. "I mean, it couldn't hold near the end, but for a minute it contained that whole blast."

"Right!" she bounced on her heels happily, her hands behind her back. "And that's what I want to try and do again." She was thrown a whole array of curious looks. "It makes sense! If I could encompass a whole explosion of reiatsu then I should be able to do the same thing with people!"

Grimmjow's mouth fell open as his brows came together, he was obviously not comprehending. "I don't get it," he affirmed. Frowning, the redhead glanced to her boyfriend.

"Ulquiorra?" she whined and he stared at her with his ever passive expression. "Can I experiment on you?" A few laughs echoed around the room, the sixth muttering something about their "kinky" situation. Standing, the fourth nodded and soon enough the room was once again silent.

Placing her fingers on her hairpins, she nodded once, whispered reassuringly to herself, and called forth three of her guardian fairies without so much as uttering a word. Held up between them was an orange, triangularly shaped barrier and it hovered without a hitch some few inches off the floor. Laid out horizontally, it almost didn't fit into the limited space left in the hotel room.

"What do you want me to do Woman?" Ulquiorra's voice was as unexciting as usual as his green eyes seared into her. She in turn glanced between the shield and her significant other, her finger placed on her lip thoughtfully.

"Um…" she furrowed her brows. "Could you… could you, like, stand right in the middle of it?" Nodding without a second thought, the ex-hollow shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stepped up onto the barrier. His shoes made an empty echo as he paced his way to the middle, as if he were walking across a steel sheet.

Turning to face her, he waited.

"Okay," she huffed and raised her hands out before her. Pursing her lips, a look of utter concentration came over her face, her silver eyes determined. And as she pulled her palms upwards, the three corners of the shield started to rise too. The area of the screen where Ulquiorra's feet were planted remained stationary while the tips extended up his form until the three points were right over his head, his whole body encompassed in the orange bloom.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly pulled the points together until they finally touched. And it was indeed like a rubber band. It took less than a second and her hairpins were whole again as her sprites flashed back into place. The shield in turn collapsed in on itself and just like that, Ulquiorra's entire existence vanished from their senses.

It was like a vacuum, one that ate up a person's entire being. It was a strange sensation and they all blinked as they took it in. Never before had they realized just how in tune their senses were. They could see him standing before them, his eyes glued to his hand as he flexed his fingers. There was a thin orange film over his whole body, sucked to it and overtaking every curve and crevice of his clothes, his skin, his hair, yet no matter how much they reinforced what they saw, each them were fully capable of convincing themselves he wasn't, in fact, in the same room as them.

Not even in the same country.

Or in the human world, or any world for that matter.

No, the barrier that was stuck to him like glue did more than hide his reiatsu. Anyone could hide such a thing, but at the end of the day, if you knew where to look and if you searched hard enough, one could always find someone who was concealing themselves. But this… this completely detached him from them. Were it not for the fact that he was visible before them, it would be impossible to find him.

Now they all understood just how aware of each other they were, and how strange it was to have someone suddenly vanish from existence entirely.

"It worked Woman," he stated and they all visibly jumped, as if surprised he could speak at all. "I am… not sure this is what you intended though."

He knew now what it felt like to drown. When water cascaded into your body and blocked all form of life. That was what he felt like; only instead of pain he felt nothing. There was no floor, no sound, no smells or touch, the only thing left to him was his sight. He didn't even know if his voice was reaching them, he couldn't hear himself speaking. It was then that his body froze, his mental psyche going into a defensive type of shock as his situation finally took root. He tensed up, afraid that should he move, he'd somehow meet his end, that the world would collapse and shatter beneath his feet. He couldn't tell if he was walking, so how could he do so? He couldn't feel his voice leaving his throat, so how should he know how to speak? It was like a noose was wrapped around his soul, strangling every kind of feeling out of him.

Yet he could see them speaking, their mouths moving. They stared at him with curious faces. His vision told him they were there, yet suddenly he was convinced otherwise. He couldn't sense them, smell them, hear them. As far as he was concerned, he was watching a movie, one that he could not hear and that could not hear him.

He was suffocating on emptiness.

That's what it was, he was _suffocating_.

How was his body supposed to know to breathe if his brain didn't register that he had lungs?

"Wow," Tatsuki shook her head as she placed her hands on her hips. "Now _that_ is the way to hide reiatsu. I can't even… I can't even hear him breathing, or smell him or anything. I never realized how much we took in with our senses, but this is just… it almost seems unnatural."

"Yeah," Grimmjow frowned, his eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure I like this." A few other uneasy glances were tossed between the group as they stared at the utterly still man before them. "It's like the _world_ just rejected him or something…"

"Seriously," Ichigo nodded in agreement.

"It's curious," Uryu started. "What we commonly refer to as your healing abilities," he nodded to the redhead who was staring at him with bright, silver eyes, "rejects _events_ that have happened, but this seems to be rejecting the actual _physical__form_ of a person. It's not mending an event or changing anything, it's merely shielding every bit of his existence from us." He shook his head. "It's just… fascinating. Almost as if he were sucked up into a black hole, but obviously not since we can still see him."

"How is that even possible?" Ichigo questioned as he shook his head. "I mean I get hiding reiatsu and stuff, but this is just over the top. How does this thing reject everything else too? That seems like it's a little beyond what was planned. He could probably walk through a crowded street like this and surprise people staring them straight in the face. His whole presence is gone."

"Yeah," Grimmjow was getting continuously more jumpy. "I feel almost like if I turned around and stopped looking at him, he'd disappear or… I'd forget about him or something, which is stupid, but…" He shrugged and shivered.

"No," Orihime paled, her hands clenching into fists. "I feel like that too, which I know doesn't make sense. Yet it's almost like he's just… being left behind. This is going to sound really bad, but suddenly every feeling I _know_ I have for him is… gone…" Yes, there was an emptiness inside her. It wasn't so much that he'd never been there, but that she was slowly forgetting him completely, leaving a gaping hole in her heart that was unable to be filled for reasons she wouldn't be able to comprehend.

None of them dared look away from him. Their minds told them that this was Ulquiorra Cifer, that they knew him, were friends with him, yet their bodies seemed completely void of such feelings and assurances. There was a kind of twisted turmoil roiling inside them all. Two realities that didn't seem to mesh.

It wasn't right.

"Hold on a sec guys," Tatsuki had narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "If that force-field is rejecting his existence from _our_ point of view… what is it like from _his_?" They all fell silent as they stared. His eyes seemed locked onto Orihime. In fact, he'd been focused on her for the duration of the whole conversation...

"Uh, guys," Chad's deep voice rumbled into their ears, "I think he's turning purple." And then it hit them.

"Holy hell," Grimmjow stood suddenly to his feet. "That thing isn't hiding **shit**, it's seriously _erasing_ his existence." Panic settled onto the group. "It's fucking _killing_ him!" And then they understood. Ulquiorra would die and waste away right before them, but because that barrier was rejecting every feeling they had for him, every memory they had _of_ him, they would forget about him. The only reason they hadn't already was because their eyes had remained focused on him, thus they could convince themselves he was there, even if their bodies remained swayed otherwise.

"We have to get that thing off of him!" Ichigo exclaimed as he too stood. "Orihime!" She was shaking her head, her hands buried in her hair. "_Do_ something!" Suddenly the room was a flurry of horrified and panicked teenagers. They all knew what needed to be done, but, alas, they knew not how to do it. They stared wide eyed at the still man before them, helpless.

"I don't know how to undo it!" the redhead exclaimed, her silver eyes wide as she ran up to her boyfriend who was frozen, his eyes staring past her at nothing. Biting her lip, she felt her breath starting to come in hard, frenzied waves as her hands started to shake. She had done this and if she didn't do something about it then… then Ulquiorra was going to be a name she had never even known! "I don't know!" Her body was pulling at her insides. Her mind was telling her to freak out, which she was, but her body didn't understand why. It was all so confusing and served no help in undoing what could turn out to be a tragedy.

"Fuck!" Grimmjow swore, his hands becoming fists at his side. "Call Urahara!"

"What the hell is he going to be able to do?" Ichigo replied back just as loudly. "He said it himself that he doesn't know how Orihime's power works, not to mention he's halfway across the damn world!"

"I know!" the sixth shouted back as he gripped his hair in his hands, frustrated. "But what else are we supposed to do?"

"Everyone stop panicking!" Uryu interjected. "It's not going to do any good!" Despite his words, Ichigo and Grimmjow were still yelling at each other, their eyes continually glued to the frozen, rather dead looking fourth. He was definitely an unhealthy shade of blue by that time.

Tatsuki on the other hand had taken Grimmjow's order to heart and called Urahara. Mostly out of a sense of helplessness than anything else. And as she listened anxiously to the rings…

"_Hello Ms. Arisawa_," the candy salesmen's voice entered her ear and she released a shaky breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "_How can I help you during this_-"

"What do we do?" she asked suddenly. Yes, she was panicking. "We didn't know it would happen, but now Ulquiorra is turning blue and Orihime is freaking out. Grimmjow and Ichigo are yelling and Uryu is caught in the middle and-"

"_Calm down_," his voice was suddenly serious. "_I__don't know what you're talking about. Who is Ulquiorra?_" Her jaw hung slack as her heart dropped to her feet, her eyes staring straight ahead in shock. "_Ms. Arisawa…? Tatsuki?_"

"No, I have to stop this, _please_!" reaching forward, the redhead placed her hands on either side of Ulquiorra's cheeks. A chilling shiver shot through her arms as she came in contact with her own barrier. It felt like a thin sheet of water against her skin. No, not water, liquid steel. It was both cool and hot; it felt as though it was burning through her flesh yet it made her knees tremble as though cold. "I did this, I should be able to stop it too!" She didn't dare close her eyes for fear of losing her only connection to the man before her. Instead she took his face into her minds eyes, imprinted it there, and fought the nagging urge in her chest that told her she was looking at no one.

The shock induced panic behind her eased out of her consciousness, the only one there was Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra.

_Ulquiorra_!

And suddenly the film around his body was gone. Their as an electric shock jolted through her fingers and abruptly her heart was full once again, no mysterious empty spaces. An orange burst of spirit particles shimmered around them and fell to the ground, dissolving into nothing.

Using her own force and determination, she'd destroyed the monster she'd unknowingly created. She could battle her own power with her own reiatsu.

_Her_ power…

Everyone took a sudden breath then as their feelings for and knowledge of him came flooding back. And he gasped, his knees giving out as he collapsed, his head slipping from Orihime's shaking embrace. Coughing viciously, he grasped at the fabric over his chest, his body falling sideways into the wall as his legs and arms trembled, unable to support him on even all fours.

His eyes were wide, shocked, and as he took in breath after breath, sweat accumulated on his forehead and dribbled down his neck. They were staring at him, frozen, not sure what to do. And it was probably best that way. To have been conscious of nothing and then suddenly thrown into a world of everything, it was… it took him a few moments to grasp the concept to say the least.

"Ulquiorra?" her voice was soft yet it pounded in his ears much too loudly. Shifting his gaze to her suddenly, he watched as she sank down next to him, one of her hands reaching out to touch him. Instinctively he raised his own and pushed her back, his whole body flinching away. "I'm sorry," she whispered as tears started to fall from her eyes. "I didn't mean…" her head was shaking as he continued to only stare at her. "I didn't mean to _hurt_ you." She looked so guilty, so ashamed, he could see that, but it wall too much.

Too much.

"Here Orihime," Uryu bent down and grabbed her gently around the arm. "Just… just give him some space." Slowly pulling her up, she didn't reply as the Quincy made her stand and ushered her out of the room, Tatsuki following close behind, the phone still glued to her ear.

Grimmjow dropped to his knees in front of his brother and the fourth snapped his gaze to him instantly.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed viciously, desperately, and the sixth raised his hands defensively. The room fell silent then, the only sound being Ulquiorra's labored breaths as he tried to once again get acquainted with being alive, and not in the human sense of the word. This encompassed hollow life too. He'd felt himself falling out of existence. Never before, even as an Espada, had he felt as empty as he had then.

Ignoring the throbbing in his brain, he gently laid his head against the floor, his eyes wide as he stared at nothing.

**oOo**

"You're sure you're alright?" Ichigo asked as he made his way towards the door. He simply nodded and shook off the orange haired shinigami's "helping" hold. He didn't know how long he'd lain on that floor, his face pressed against the carpet. An hour, maybe two. He now knew exactly what that floor felt like beneath his cheek and hands, how it smelled (not particularly pleasant), and alas what it sounded like scraping against his ear. He'd laid there taking that all in, desperately hanging onto the first thing he'd been able to register since coming out of that void.

Now, however, since he'd managed to finally calm his nerves and collect his thoughts, he needed to smell, touch, and hear something else. Something more fulfilling than the hotel flooring.

Reaching for the knob, he quickly swung the door open without the aid of Chad, Ichigo, or Grimmjow, who were following dutifully behind him to make sure he wouldn't fall over again. The first attempt he'd made to get up had failed, thus they'd had to heft him to his feet, but he felt a little more balanced now, so hopefully no more humiliating tumbles would come his way.

And as the sun beat down on his face, he flinched ever so slightly. The drapes had been pulled in the room, he hadn't expected the brightness. Staggering ever so slightly, he heard the three behind him scramble to catch him, but he waved them off. He was fine, just a little taken aback was all.

And as his eyes adjusted to the day, he saw three figures sitting on the curb surrounding the parking lot some ten yards away. They'd all glanced up at the sound of the door and were staring at him with both worry and apprehension, and in the case of one person in particular, guilt, shame, and self-loathing.

That would never do.

Making their location his path and direction, they stood suddenly at his approach. The two he took no notice of looked hesitant, but didn't object to his coming over. His Woman on the other hand, she was looking at him with the most pathetic eyes he'd ever seen. Tears had started running down her cheeks again and her hands were cupped before her mouth, shaking.

But worst of all? She looked afraid.

Terrified actually.

"Ulquiorra," she uttered softly when he was but a mere three feet from her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to-"

And her apology was cut short.

Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his face finding the top of her head as he took in as much about her as he possibly could. Her form pressed against his, her shivering, trembling back against his limbs as her soft hair caressed his lips and nose. She smelled of strawberries and the sun, and her heartbeat was thudding against his, her breathing unstable in her unease.

During those moments of nothing back there, he'd lost the feeling of her entirely. Of her smile and the way her bright, light spirit lifted him up. Her high pitched, sing-song voice and her shining silver eyes. Ever since the day he'd first met her back in that park with Yammy, he'd never once not been able to feel her presence in one world or another. He hadn't been aware of it, but even his first year as a human, when he'd lived underground, he'd known she was there, on Earth, somewhere. He hadn't been conscious of it, but alas he knew now that no matter where _she'd_ been, _he'd_ been attached to her.

Feeling the connection snap had nearly driven him insane.

"It does not matter," he muttered against her hair, ignoring the soft, relieved looks they were receiving from their friends. And at the sound of his voice, her body relaxed in his arms, her hands reaching up to grab his shirt as she cried into his chest.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again. "I'm _so_ sorry."

"Shhh," he rubbed her back comfortingly. "Nothing happened, I am fine, everything is fine." She sniffed and burrowed her face more deeply into his chest, her soft crying only increasing with his reassurances. "It was an accident, nothing bad came of it, it is alright now." She nodded against him and he held her tighter, his chest giving a sigh as a light breeze blew through the parking lot.

**oOo**

"That was odd," the blonde man furrowed his eyebrows as he stared down at his cell phone. Yoruichi and Tessai glanced up at him from their spots at a table, their own brows raised curiously. "Ms. Arisawa called in a rather big panic, but then said everything was fine and hung up quite suddenly." He paused, "Said something about Ulquiorra. Funny, I almost forgot he was with them."

"You're an idiot," the exotic looking woman replied as she stared back down at the magazine she'd been reading through. "You should probably call them back though, just in case something really is up." He nodded in agreement and went to press the redial button. Unfortunately, he was rather rudely interrupted.

"I can't take this anymore!" The heads of the three adults in the room turned to the door of their hotel suite as a grumpy, green haired little girl stomped through, a stuffed lion held in her hands. "They won't leave me alone!"

"Kon, stop complaining and go back to bed," Yoruichi scolded. "You're keeping Nel's body alive for her and that means you can't be staying up until all hours of the night. She's still a growing girl. Now turn around and get back in there."

"Didn't you hear me at all?" the toddler exclaimed. "Jinta and Ururu won't let me sleep. They keep poking me and-"

"Kon," Yoruichi stared at him evenly, her tone authoritative. "I'm tired of hearing your excuses, go back to bed." Lips forming a pout and eyes narrowed, the mod soul considered arguing further before simply huffing and turning back. Slamming the door to the room he shared with the rest of the children, he vanished.

Shaking her head, the former leader of the stealth squad continued her reading and Urahara boisterously yelled a hello into his phone.

**oOo**

"I just explained everything to Urahara," Tatsuki stated as she flipped her phone shut and collapsed onto the hotel bed next to Grimmjow. "He advised that we not continue experimenting until he's around."

"Well duh," Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "As if we'd try that again _with_ him here." The sixth shook his head. On the bed across from him, Ichigo was leaning against the headboard, his legs crossed before him. And at the end sat Orihime and Ulquiorra, the fourth holding her possessively, his arms around her body as his legs framed hers. His head leaned on her shoulder and his eyes were closed. Uryu stood against a wall nearby and Chad sat on a dresser against the wall.

"I'm never doing that again," the redhead stated quietly, her eyes bloodshot and red. Ulquiorra in turn tightened his hold on her. "It's not something I should ever have a reason to ever do," she gulped, "to anyone or anything." The room was momentarily silent until Uryu cleared his throat.

"I honestly don't know what use you'd have for this power either," he agreed. "Your ability to reject events should be more than enough, being able to reject the existence of anything entirely, memories and all, doesn't seem necessary." A few of the others nodded in agreement.

"I'm a little confused though," Ichigo piped in. "I mean, other than erasing our feelings and memories, is there a difference in what your power does?" He was addressing Orihime and she sighed, mentally exhausted and not in the mood to answer questions. Thus, she was thankful Uryu did it for her.

"I think there's a very big difference," the Quincy stated darkly. "Her ability to reject events is usually used for healing purposes, but this new power… I don't think it could ever do that. It seems to be more in the mind of… getting rid of people as opposed to healing them." Orihime's eyes fell to the floor. "Or objects too for that matter. It could probably reject the existence if anything."

"But her 'healing powers' could have done that too, couldn't they?" Ichigo asked back.

"I'm… not sure," Uryu replied thoughtfully. "I think her rejection of events ability could probably reject someone being born if she so wished it, but that's different than this new ability. First off, I don't think our memories would be wiped if she were to actually commit the atrocity of wishing someone to have never been born. The person would just… disappear. But this new thing, it's more dangerous. It goes ahead and… kills everything about a person, rejecting them from everyone and everything."

"Her healing abilities," Tatsuki interjected, "focus on a single area, like a bandage, whereas this new… erasing ability is more like her shield, the power it stems from. It encompasses someone as a whole and gets rid of them." Uryu laughed lightly.

"You said it right there Tatsuki," the Quincy affirmed. "And we've been saying it without even realizing it. One ability rejects, the other erases." Silence fell on them momentarily as they all took in the information. "No, not even that's right," Uryu continued. "They _all_ reject, but the first _restores_ things to how they were before and the second erases them entirely..." It was then that Ulquiorra's eyes finally flickered open.

"Each one of your abilities stems from one of the original forms you used. Restoration as healing, the erasing was a barrier… you have a third as well do you not?" She nodded, her eyes tired. "You have an offensive attack."

"Are you saying that each one of her powers has some greater use that none of us knows about?" Ichigo interjected thoughtfully.

"That does seem to now be the recurring pattern," Uryu replied. "I wonder what else you could possibly do…?" She sighed then and they all felt suddenly guilty. Obviously, no matter what she could accomplish, she didn't want to think about it currently. They should just stop talking about her "potential."

"I think," Grimmjow started, his voice somewhat subdued, "that I finally understand what Aizen meant when he said your abilities trespassed on a gods territory." She didn't reply, only stiffened in Ulquiorra's arms, and the fourth cast his older brother a disapproving eye. He in turn shrugged. It was true after all…

"In any case," Tatsuki trampled over her boyfriends inconsiderate comment, "that isn't going to work in keeping you three shielded, obviously." They nodded. "But she's put up barriers before that blocked reiatsu, or at least defensively she has, but they do in fact block spirit waves in any case, so it should be safe to keep doing so, right?"

"I think so," the redhead finally spoke up, her voice quiet and a little scratchy. "I think that whole… erasing thing starts when I snap the three ends together, kind of like… locking on a target. But if I'm just forming a big barrier around nothing in particular, it will just block like it always has. So long as I don't snap on to anything…"

"In other words, your shields up until now have just been incomplete," Uryu explained. "That makes sense. And so long as you keep the ends apart, nothing will happen. The corners obviously aren't attracted to each other like magnets or something; you have to actually think about it to get them to come together. With that in mind, or out of mind I should say, everything should be safe." They all nodded in agreement.

"I kind of want to know something else," Chad started and they all glanced at him. "Why didn't the barrier erase the explosion before, when we were fighting Ulquiorra's hollow?" Heads turning back to the redhead, they waited to see if she had an explanation.

"I'm not sure," she finally replied. "I was kind of surprised when it happened, so maybe that had something to do with it, or maybe it was just because the force inside was too strong to erase…"

"I think you're onto something," Uryu was thoughtful. "If you guys remember, the wave of the explosion did start to deteriorate before the barrier broke apart. The whole thing didn't disappear, thus we retained our understanding of it, but some of it was depleted. The force that was behind it competing with Orihime's own power along with her confusion of the whole situation could have contributed to its weakness."

"What you're saying then," Ichigo jumped in, "is that if the reiatsu the barrier is competing with is greater than her own, it won't be successful."

"Maybe," Uryu shrugged. "That explosion was packed full of spirit particles, and had Ulquiorra been out of his limiting human body today, he may have been able to break out of it. Who's to say?" There was only one way to find out after all, and no one was willing to experiment.

"Well whatever," Tatsuki stated and sniffed. "This is all pretty irrelevant to our current situation. It's late now, not really worth trying to find a training area like you guys were planning." Not to mention Ulquiorra and Orihime appeared utterly exhausted. "We have these rooms reserved for tonight and tomorrow still so…"

"No," Grimmjow shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Nope, _not_ doing it. We're cancelling our reservations here and finding a better place to stay. One with enough beds so that I don't have to sleep with Ichigo."

"Don't say it like that!" the orange haired shinigami hissed. "You make it sound like we were, you know, doing naughty things together or something…" The sixth dry heaved then, his rival visibly paling at the thought. Then they both simultaneously shuddered.

"Well we need to figure out where we're staying then," Tatsuki issued as she pulled her laptop up and onto the bed. "We can look up prices online and call around a bit, and then just get a taxi." No one objected to her plan and as Ichigo and Grimmjow crowded around her, she started searching for available rooms in the city.

Ulquiorra on the other hand took advantage of Ichigo's sudden absence and, while also pulling his Woman with him, scooted back on the bed and laid down, his head hitting the pillows as he released a tired sigh. His redhead in turn placed her nose in the crook of his neck, her hands on his chest as he blanketed his fingers across hers.

Those others could search all they wanted. Neither Ulquiorra nor Orihime cared where they stayed; all they wanted to do was take a nap.

**oOo**

"Ugh, so _heavy_!" dropping her suitcase down on the floor, the strawberry blonde heaved a great, dramatized sigh. Stretching, she turned backwards as her silver haired companion came up behind her, his hands full with his luggage and _both_ of their carry-ons. "Well, at least we finally got to the good hotel, that one we stayed in last night was terrible, the bed had absolutely no bounce, and can you believe that guy at the front desk, so rude, and…"

Going up to the front desk of their _new_ hotel, the former captain purchased a single room while his partner continued to prattle on about nothing of importance. And as he was handed the key, he turned just in time to see her bounding over to a little store set off to the side of the lobby.

"I'll be right back Gin, I promise!" she stated as she stared back at him. He simply smiled wider and picked up her suitcase along with his. White loafers clacking against the tile floors of the expensive hotel, he rounded a corner and was faced with a wall of three elevators.

Unfortunately, there was a rather petite woman struggling to lug her bags into one and the doors closed before she could get in. Huffing, she dropped the three suitcases in her right hand and pressed the open button again. The doors did as asked and parted once more. With her key and room number between her lips, she again went about struggling to retrieve her luggage off the floor.

Unfortunately she had multiple large scale portfolios, bags, and cases already strapped or attached to her person, thus she was having a fair bit of trouble. Eyebrows rising in amusement, Gin watched the scene fold out before him. And as he predicted, the doors once again closed before she could get her bearings. Sighing in irritation, she was forced to once again drop her bags in favor of pressing the "up" button.

Setting his own things off in a nearby corner, the fox-faced man approached her.

"Are you in need of assistance?" he asked, his voice as velvety as always yet not failing to make her jump. Quickly turning up to face him, her expression quickly morphed from one of shock to relief as his words sank in.

"Thank you, that would be very helpful," she smiled, not at all perturbed by him, and allowed him to grab up the bags she was continuously dropping. "You'd think I was moving here or something," she laughed as they strolled into the elevator, "but it's merely a gallery opening. I have so much work with me right now it's incredible."

"You're an artist?" the silver haired man asked, his gaze on her never wavering. Yes, he was certain now, he'd gotten a good look at her face and there was no denying it. Granted, his experience with her beforehand had been limited, but if Rangiku agreed with him as well…

Attempting to blow the strip of dark hair that had fallen between her eyes out of her face, she nodded as the strand came back to rest yet again on her nose, the end spiting to either side of her soft features.

"Some call me that," she laughed as she pressed the button for the fourth floor, her lavender-violet eyes alight with a kind of happiness only bestowed on those who were satisfied with their lot in life. They also shined with a kind of innocence many humans were blessed with, a type of trust that had yet to be spoiled.

She was lucky Gin was _such_ a decent guy.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short," he replied as they climbed the floors. "Certainly if you're here for a gallery opening, your work is worth something." She laughed lightly as the elevator dinged and the doors parted.

"Perhaps," she replied as she hauled her baggage down the hall, "but the taste of Europeans is quite different from those in New York, so I'll see how well I do here, it is my first time exhibiting out of the country after all." She stopped before room 412.

"Congratulations," the ex-captain replied as she burst inside, all her bags and portfolios falling to the ground in a heap. "That is quite an accomplishment. You should be proud." She laughed yet again as he set her bags down just to the left of the door. Turning to him, she was still smiling. Despite her modesty, it was quite obvious she was rather inflated with the whole idea.

"Again, thank you," she replied. "And also for your help…" Suddenly her face fell into a frown. His in turn only grew upwards as his grin widened. "I don't mean to be a bother to you, but I still have quite a few bags waiting outside and I'd appreciate help bringing them up."

"Of course, and my companion can help as well," he replied as he backed out of the room. Letting out a relieved sigh, she followed him and together they headed for the elevator once again.

"Are you visiting as well?" she asked curiously as they were closed inside the machine and headed downwards.

"One could say that," he replied. "More like we're on the run," his smile stretched yet again. "People can't seem to keep their hands off a handsome young man like myself." She giggled shortly as they reached the ground floor. Allowing her out first like any gentlemen would, he was not surprised to find Rangiku standing by their luggage, a curious look on her face as he waved her over. Dropping her new shopping bag, she joined them.

"This is my partner in crime," he motioned to the strawberry blonde beside him, "Rangiku Matsumoto. Ah, yes, and of course, how rude of me. I'm Gin Ichimaru." His significant other cast him a curious look when he revealed their real names; they were supposed to use the fake ones Urahara had assigned them all, just in case a shinigami stationed in the area happened to hear (not that the two wouldn't sense someone so close by, but word could get around).

But as she got a better look at the short woman standing with them, she understood.

"Ah yes, we forgot to introduce ourselves," she held out her own limb to shake. "I'm Hannah Smith." Finishing their introductions with steady hands, Gin explained to Rangiku that they were helping the poor woman with her luggage.

"I'm very sorry for taking up your time," she continued as they followed her outside to her taxi.

"We weren't in a pressing situation," Rangiku replied with a smile as she grabbed two cases (not complaining at the load this time as she really shouldn't have been having trouble to begin with). "We're just here on a vacation, you know, to see some of the general attractions."

"Ah of course," their new acquaintance replied as Gin grabbed the remaining three cases before sending the cab on its way. "I wish I could give you some advice, but this is my first time here so…" she shrugged as together they headed back inside, all their hands full. "I can't say what I personally think of the city so far, but I hope you two enjoy yourselves."

"Aren't you going to take a break to relax?" the former lieutenant asked curiously as they boarded the elevator.

"Perhaps," she appeared momentarily dejected. "I'll probably be working a lot of the time though." The elevator zoomed upwards and as they reached the top, the two shinigami's interesting companion seemed to have a rather sudden idea. Thus as they reached her room, she paused outside the door.

Setting her bags down, she rummaged around in her pockets until she located an envelope.

"It isn't much," she started as she held the white paper out to Gin, "but perhaps you'll get some enjoyment out of it while you're here. It's tickets to a select viewing of my show an hour before the actual opening. I'd love to see you there. Of course it's hardly a thank you, but…"

"No, no, no," Rangiku assured as her significant other pocketed the envelope. "We'd love to come!" The petite woman smiled in relief before turning to open the door to her hotel. And upon lugging her things inside, she thanked them once again before they waved and parted ways. And as the two shinigami headed towards the elevator yet again, Rangiku furrowed her brows.

"What were the odds of that?" she muttered she they stepped inside the metal laced contraption yet again. Frowning, she appeared thoughtful.

"Slim to none," her partner replied as he pressed the button to the first floor. "This could turn out to be very interesting if we play our cards right." He continued to smile as always and his companion gave him a disapproving look.

"Why are you always trying to play the hero?" she asked, but, alas, received no answer.

**oOo**

"You're leaving your defense wide open," he stated as he knocked her out of the air once again. "You're as bad as your brother." She scowled up at him, her black hair pulled back as sweat dribbled down her temple. Though she couldn't completely blame him for being in such a foul mood, he was sweating more than she was.

It wasn't a terribly warm day, but still hot enough to give Toshiro grief. He hadn't complained about it when the decision had been announced, but the group had quickly found out when they'd landed that he absolutely despised warm, sticky weather. Granted, the winters in their area of Brazil were supposed to be rather moderate, but still, the chance of snow was slim, thus the ex-captain would have to suffer.

Karin on the other hand didn't mind it in the least. She loved summer and as far as she was concerned, the hotter the better.

"That's not really an insult," she replied as she jumped back into the air. "He did save all your butts after all." She placed a single hand on her hip as she stared at him, her long zanpakuto held firmly in the other. "And of course I'm doing terrible, we've been at this for five hours, I'm tired." He frowned.

"Five hours of training is nothing," he replied and pointed his blade at her. "You just need to work on your physical health." She cocked an eyebrow at him. She didn't know why he was pushing this; he was sweating so bad that it had soaked through parts of his jeans. In her opinion, that meant it was time to call it quits.

"Well I'm taking a break," she decided as she sheathed her sword. "You can stay up here and whack at the clouds if you want, but I'm heading back down." And with that, she flashed out of the clearing above the trees. Sword falling to his side, he sighed before sheathing it and following after her.

She stopped on a branch of the highest tree in the forested area they'd been training over. Sitting down, she stared out at the clear sky as he took up a spot next to her.

"It's only our second day here and I'm already thinking about home," she stated, her shoulders slumping. "I don't think I'd miss it so much if I'd gotten a little more time to spend with my mom, you know? But I guess this is how life works…" He frowned.

"Don't think that way," he commanded roughly. "You'll see them again soon enough." Despite how certain he sounded, she knew neither of them could say for sure. She was trying to be strong, but the thought of never seeing her family again was weighing down on her more and more and it had only been two days.

It was so frustrating though. Finally her family was whole again, but then things had to go and get all screwed up. It wasn't fair.

"Yeah, sure," she replied temperamentally and crossed her arms over her chest. He in turn glanced over at her, seeming displeased with her attitude. She didn't dare look at him then for she knew she was acting like a spoiled brat.

"Don't worry about it," he stated harshly. "Things will work out in the end." What a vague way of saying he had no idea what was going to happen. Her entire family and her best friends were being hunted by powerful shinigami that were out for blood! As if things were going to just "work out." There was no way she was leaving her life to such a blurred future. "Just tough it out a while longer."

"I don't want to 'tough it out' anymore," she replied. "I've been doing that my entire life; I think I deserve a vacation once in a while." She found her phrasing rather ironic as she glanced out over the fertile rainforest stretching out before her. Some vacation this was turning out to be.

"What do you mean?" he asked and she swiveled her head to face him. He was staring at her intently, his turquoise eyes boring through her. Despite the sweat and grime that had accumulated on his face, he still managed to look as intimidating and authoritative as ever.

And it irritated her. She didn't mean to be short, but it had been a stressful last few days and she wasn't in the mood to answer his demanding questions. He didn't respond to any of hers, so why should she reply to his? He didn't have any power over her anymore; she didn't _have_ to answer to him.

"'_It doesn't matter_,'" she mocked as she recollected their discussion during the plane ride. He in turn narrowed his gaze at her, obviously displeased. But she didn't care, she knew she was acting like a child, and she knew he was only concerned, yet she was worried for him too. He didn't trust her enough to open up though, so why should she do the same for him?

"You're acting very immaturely," he stated, his voice static as he reeled in his irritation. "I understand that you're not happy with what's happened, but for the record, no one is." Standing abruptly, she glared down at him, her brown eyes growing darker yet.

"You don't even know what you're talking about," she spat. "Do you think I'm that much of a spoiled brat? That I'd lash out at anyone just because I'm frustrated with this stupid hiding crap? Well I'm glad you think so highly of my character, but I'm not angry because of this dumb trip or having to leave my family, I'm mad at _you_!" Turning, she didn't even see the reaction on his face before she flashed across the treetops.

And of course he came after her. She could feel him zipping up behind her and she knew she couldn't outrun him. Her shunpo was by no means slow, but he had experience on his side, so when she felt his hand wrap around her arm, she was ready.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed as she turned back to face him. He didn't listen of course and as she tried to throw her arm from his grasp, she was only slightly surprised at how strong he was. She couldn't break free.

"If you have a problem with me then don't run off," he was angry and she shivered as his hand turned cold against her burning flesh. "I don't know what I did that wronged you, but I'd appreciate being enlightened." She laughed and scoffed at the same time at that one, a cynical grin gracing her face.

"You want to be _enlightened_?" she asked as she finally succeeded in reefing her arm out of his hold. "Why do you think I would tell you Toshiro? Why should I trust you with anything I have to say? We've only been training for hours together every day for the last month, eating together, hanging out, talking, so _why_ in the _world_ would I feel close enough to you to share _anything_ with you?"

And again she flashed away. Nostrils flaring, he bounded after her. He knew what this was about and it frayed at his nerves. She just didn't understand the position he was in. He wanted to open up to her, but, dammit, it wasn't that simple!

"Stop following me!" suddenly she was right in his face and he had to double back. "I obviously have nothing to say to you, so leave me alone." He glared at her, his lips pursed as he controlled his temper.

"Well I have something to say to you," he replied and she laughed in a rather offensive, exaggerated manner.

"You do?" she asked and shook her head, a frown returning to her face. "Well that's new isn't it? Who would have thought that after all this time you finally have something other than orders to bark at my face!" She shrugged, "Though I guess it's fitting since you're not a captain anymore."

He visibly seethed.

"Why are you trying to pick a fight with me?" he asked, his gaze cold. "I don-"

"Because maybe if I get you angry you'll show a few other emotions too!" she fired back, interrupting him. "You're so mean and cold all the time, maybe getting you angry will spark something, I don't know! It's like you expect everything from me and I shouldn't get anything from you. I'm tired of being treated like some subordinate that's below you!"

"Up until recently, you _were_ below me," he growled, "so I don't know what the problem is. As far as I'm concerned, our relationship is exactly as it should be. I was a captain and you're a new recruit, friendship is the last thing we should be concerned with."

"Then why do _you_ care so much?" she rebuked. "You say we shouldn't be friends, but then you go and get concerned when I'm in a bad mood. Yet the second I ask _you_ a question you close off completely. Well guess what, it doesn't work that way in my book, okay? You're not allowed to care about me if I'm not allowed to care about you!"

"It's not that easy!" he yelled.

"Why not?" she screamed back, the force of her voice taking them both by surprise. Gulping, she took a step away from him, her eyes falling momentarily to the ground. "Why can't you trust me?" she whispered and shook her head.

He could hear it, the hurt in her voice, the betrayal. She was right after all, what right did he have to inquire into her affairs if she couldn't his? It was hardly reasonable.

And as she shook her head and turned away from him, he lunged forward and grabbed her arm again, though his grip was far gentler than before. Apparently not expecting such a reaction, she faced him in surprise.

"I…" he tried to find the words. "I'm _trying_…" It was the best he could do, the best he knew how to do, but she was shaking her head, her face becoming tight as she tried to hide the emotions tumbling around inside her.

"Don't lie to me," she whispered. "You're not trying, you're giving up." His gaze flickered momentarily, his fingers becoming lax around her arm. "I'm not sure _why_ you've given up; you didn't even grant our friendship a chance to begin with." He shook his head, his gaze falling to the emptiness beneath their feet as he pulled away from her.

"You don't understand," he replied without so much as looking at her. "It's not that I don't want to… you just… see things differently than I do…" His face, once a carefully concealed mask, was now cracking.

"You don't know that," she stated as she stared at him. "You're just making up excuses." Finally his eyes turned up to her once again, that icy anger pitched her way. "You're afraid," his stare narrowed, "and I don't understand why, mostly because you won't help me to." She paused before sighing. "Toshiro… why are you so intimidated be me?"

His pride wouldn't allow him to answer such a question straight out. By all rights, it should be the other way around, but she'd never so much as shown even a hint of being awed by him. To her, rank didn't matter. Maybe it was because she hadn't lived in the world he had, or maybe like her brother she just had formal respect for no one. In any case, he couldn't answer her question. Or rather, he didn't want to.

"You wouldn't understand," he finally replied and she frowned as he threw up his barriers once again. "It's all so easy for you, but not everyone is like that. Some of us can never be." And then he turned from her, apparently deeming their argument over with.

"You know, that's something I hate about you," she muttered. "You're so arrogant, as if you would know the depth of my understanding of anything." She knew he was listening even if he didn't turn to her. And as she fell silent, he paused only momentarily before flashing into the air, leaving her alone yet again, as he always did.

**oOo**

"This is more like it," the blue haired teenager confirmed as he fell back onto one of the soft beds of their new hotel room. "No more sharing with Kurosaki." He smiled then, as if this thought in itself was enough to make the sun shine.

"A lot pricier though," Uryu stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. Yes, he could admit it, he was pretty cheap. But then again, this wasn't his money he was spending after all. If Urahara had wanted them to cap their spending limit, he should have said so.

"I can't believe we found this suite available," Tatsuki sighed as she glanced around the room. It wasn't the most expensive they could have gone, but it was right on the edge of the main hotel route through Las Vegas. Situated on the top floor, it was designed for large parties just like theirs. Five queen sized beds sat around half the spacious circular room and were back-dropped by large windows overlooking the bright city.

The carpet was an attractively musty blue, and the bedspreads were made up of silver silk trappings. Glass end tables sat to the lefts of each sleeping arrangement and to the side not occupied by beds were two leather couches and a large screen LCD television suspended in the air. Also on this side was the door and the entrance to the bathroom as well as a large walk in closet where they could store their belongings.

It was a little extravagant, and, well okay, more than a little expensive, but if they had to live like this then they were bound and determined not to make it hell.

"Did you see the size of the pool downstairs?" Ichigo inquired as he set his bag down on what he had claimed as his bed. "It looks pretty deep," he glanced to Grimmjow who was looking rather unenthused. "Just thought I'd warn ya so you didn't drown." The sixth glared at him.

"Oh _man_," Orihime frowned as she too placed her things on one of the beds. Ulquiorra set his at the foot of the same one, obviously laying his claim early on more than just a sleeping space. "I want to go swimming, but I'm _so_ tired." And as if to accent her point, she yawned.

"Dude, you and Ulquiorra just got done taking a, like, four hour nap," Ichigo stated. "How can you be tired?" The long haired redhead shrugged as she plopped down on the edge of the bed, and then, with a squeak, she fell promptly to the floor.

"Those sheets are slippery!" she exclaimed with wide eyes. Her significant other stared down at her, somewhat amused by her antics, before holding his hand down to assist her in once again rising to her feet. The rest of the occupants surrounding them just laughed.

"So they've got a pool," Grimmjow started, "and what else? There has to be more than that, right?" Uryu raised his eyebrow skeptically.

"Not that we can participate in," the four-eyed man replied. "There's a casino, but all of our ID's state that we're underage by American standards, not to mention the fact that we actually _are_ underage to begin with. Other than that, I don't know what this place has got."

"I know they have a pool area," Tatsuki stated and her boyfriend stared at her in irritation. She in turn rolled her eyes. "Not _that_ kind of pool," she replied. "The game pool, you know, with sticks and balls. I think it's near the bar." The blue haired teenager furrowed his brows before glancing at Ulquiorra. His brother merely shrugged. "You guys have never played pool?"

"Then we _need_ to play," Ichigo stated with a vindictive smile. He was hanging around Grimmjow far too often it seemed. "That way I can royally kick your ass." The orange haired shinigami appeared rather smug. The sixth in turn frowned; he didn't really have a whole lot of defense for that.

"_Please_ Ichigo," Tatsuki put her hands on her hips. "So long as I'm on his team, he could be a bumbling idiot and we'd still win." Grinning sadistically, the blue haired Espada twisted his face to his girlfriend, once again turned on by her confidence.

"Teams?" Ichigo's face turned grumpy. "In that case, Chad's my better man." The dark haired half Mexican nodded silently as he crossed his arms over his chest. Thus the teams were set and ready to go.

"Whatever," Uryu interjected with a shrug. "You guys can go hang out in that disgusting, smoke filled den; I'm going to the pool." And as if to accent his point, he pulled his swim trunks from his bag and headed towards the bathroom.

"What about you two?" Tatsuki asked as she stared at Ulquiorra and Orihime. "Going back to bed?" The redhead nodded sleepily. "Okay, we'll be quiet when we come back up." Grimmjow snorted and rolled his eyes.

"They're not going to bed," he insisted while shaking his head. "They'll be up here, probably bein' louder than we are." Ichigo visibly blushed as he caught onto what his rival was implying. Tatsuki in turn shrugged along with Chad.

"Doesn't really matter to me," the karate champion stated as she headed towards the door and was followed by the rest of her party. "That's their business." Neither the fourth nor his Woman objected to the accusations and as their companions left, the room fell silent, the door clicking closed quietly.

"I don't know that I have the energy to do anything like that," the redhead sighed as she graced her way to the window. Placing her fingers against the glass, her eyelids drooped as she stared dazedly across the cityscape. "Besides, with all these windows…"

Ulquiorra didn't reply, only turned to stare at her, his hands placed firmly in his pockets. She had become still, her shoulders dropping as if in defeat, thus the frown creasing his face intensified. She'd been acting akin to this since the accident earlier that day. Despite the fact that nothing had come of it, she still fretted. And as usual, he couldn't decipher what was running through her head.

Stepping forward, it took him only a second to come up behind her. And as he pulled his arms around her form, he set his chin on her right shoulder, thus she gulped.

"Tell me what you are thinking about," he whispered and she gave him a shaky sigh.

"I don't know," she replied quietly, her voice cracking ever so slightly. "So many things." He tightened his hold on her, waiting. "I feel like... like there are so many things I don't know." She shook her head. "What happened today... it was scary Ulquiorra. I almost killed you."

"But you didn't," he stated quickly. "And now you know. Nothing happened Woman, you need to stop distressing over this." Her whole body shook in his embrace, her lips pursing as she took a breath to calm herself.

"But that's just it," she muttered. "I know _that_ now, but there are still things I don't. I don't know the full extent of my power and... and these strange things keep happening. I'm scared of... of the things I _don't_ know I'm capable of..." Loosening his grasp on her, he grabbed her shoulder and gently turned her to face him. Green met silver and his heart sank. "Grimmjow's right you know," she continued as her gaze fell to the ground, her hands fussing with his shirt. "I don't want the powers of a god or anything; I don't want any of it."

"Perhaps that," he placed his cool fingers on her cheek and turned her head back up to look at him, "is the whole reason you were granted this power." He let is hand travel back until his fingers were imbedded in her hair. "If you do not want it, then you are less likely to abuse it. Power is something that should be feared, thus only those who feel that way should have it."

"Like you?" she inquired quietly.

"I suppose," he replied and blinked. "Though you're power is far greater than mine." She almost flinched away as he aired that comment. "And I do desire some of what my power can grant me, that is, what I need to keep you safe."

"You want to protect me with yours," she blinked back tears, "yet I nearly erased you today with mine." She shook her head again as a single tear streaked down her cheek. "I feel like some kind of monster Ulquiorra," she whispered. "It's unnatural, being able to reject events and people and objects. Something like that shouldn't be possible. Who am I to decide what-"

"Stop," he issued shortly and her mouth clamped shut. "You are not a monster; you know not the definition of the word. I lived in a world where nightmares exist for nearly my whole existence. It is not the power one possesses that determines good or evil, merely how they decide to use it. Your intentions were not to hurt anyone, it was an accident. To continue beating yourself up would be futile. You have done nothing wrong."

"You do it," she replied quietly as their eyes met yet again.

"I am a sinner," he stated. "It is only natural that I feel guilt and remorse over what I have done. You on the other hand are innocent, you have no blood on your hands, you have nothing you should be feeling such weight about. Our situations are incomparable." His hand fell from her face. "Do not lump yourself together with beings such as myself, such as Grimmjow. Never should you want to be dragged to our level. You have done nothing wrong, of that I am certain.

"Were it not for my inability to keep away from you, I would have left you long ago," she almost appeared taken aback by his blunt comment. "You deserve far better than what I have to offer you. Accept these facts, for they are truths."

"You think that just by commanding things of me you can make me believe they're true?" a slightly bitter smile tugged at one corner of her mouth as she reached out and grabbed his hands with hers. "Maybe you're right, maybe I'm not a monster, but if I don't get to be one than neither do you." Finally her face broke into a smile, though it was sad. "You do deserve me Ulquiorra, you deserve everything." He furrowed his brows. "The life of a hollow isn't something you chose, and the fact that you decided to pull out of it... that makes you more worthy than you seem to understand."

"I suppose this is something we will forever disagree on," he breathed as he leaned in closer to her, his forehead touching hers gently. She in turn finally smiled what he could characterize as a pure performance of her beauty, though it was just barely over the line. She was always stunning, but when she was truly happy...

Those were the moments he treasured above all others.

Staring at them, he released a defeated sigh. They were completely caught up in their own little world. Sure he'd entertained the idea of stealing her away, but, alas, it would be a waste of energy. He didn't stand a chance, not when they looked at each other the way they were. And some of the things he'd heard them saying...

He'd lost Orihime Inoue a long time ago.

Well, he supposed he couldn't be too bitter about it. He'd come to this conclusion once before in his life, when the same woman as before him had instead been infatuated with Kurosaki. His hope had died then, only to be reborn when it was apparent that the orange haired shinigami had no interest. Yet those hollow had showed up and now he'd be forced to forget her all over again. Perhaps it wouldn't be as hard the second time around.

That didn't mean however that he couldn't give Ulquiorra a hard time.

Quietly grabbing his towel so as to go unnoticed, he slipped on a pair of sandals and headed silently out the door, the latch just barely clicking as he did so. They'd probably heard, but he'd tried at least.

Throwing the beach paraphernalia over his shoulder, he pushed his glasses further up on his nose and shoved his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. Deciding to take the stairs instead of the elevator, he turned to a heavy metal door and pulled it open. Unlike the rest of the hotel, the corridor in which the stairs were held was rather flat. Clean of course, but colorless. He was slightly thankful for the change, too much had happened that day and all the colors of Las Vegas were wearing on his nerves.

So with a slow kind of pace, he descended the ten flights of steps, his mind mainly dry and without much action. His brain power had been used up trying to digest all of what Inoue's power had done. Needless to say he'd come to no more conclusions. He was as mystified as the wielder herself. The only thing he did know for sure was that she was much stronger than any of them knew, could comprehend. She didn't have a desire to fight, but she didn't need one. She was far more dangerous than all of them put together. With a little training to boost her reiatsu... the results could be scary, at least as far as potential goes. Of course Inoue would be the last person in the world to use her abilities for evil deeds.

Finally reaching the ground floor, he shoved the door open and was greeted yet again by an array of talking, lively guests, a lot of which were either being obnoxiously loud or drunk. His stomach turned at the sight. They were jumping around, hollering, laughing, swaying, and drinking. It was quite nauseating really, though that would be why the city was labeled a party central.

Why couldn't they have gone somewhere nice, like a quaint little town in northern Europe? No, they had to go to America, and Las Vegas at that. What a nightmare.

Pushing his way through the lobby, he could see the pool through a glass wall. It was already rather full and looked far more rambunctious than the lobby in which he currently resided. Perhaps a swim had been a bad idea.

Sighing, his shoulders slumped.

And that's when he saw it. Just out of the corner of his eyes. It wasn't so much some kind of movement that had captured his attention, but perhaps the lack there of it. Had she not been standing so stoically, had every person in the vicinity not been walking by her without taking any notice, he might have never seen her.

But there was no mistake.

Pulling his hood over his head, he diminished his reiatsu even more. Taking one more glance at her, he could only cringe. The long braid, the stoic expression, the green eyes. This was definitely not good. How had they been found so fast? They were barely exuding any spirit energy.

He had to find the others, before she did, and quickly.

**oooooooooooooooo**

So that chapter was a little more exciting than the last one. I'm not sure why, but chapter 25 didn't get nearly the response I usually get, lol. Sorry if it was a bad chapter, I hope this one was better XD

So you all wanted to see the points of views of the other characters, which I'm glad for, because now I can execute a few more new ideas. Nel was cute. I kind of imagined her as a mix between Rangiku and Orihime. A fashion ditz with innocent intentions, yet when battle comes around, she's ready for anything. And I think, should I decide to go with some RenNel, that they make a good pair. They just... look good together (contrary to what Yumichika thinks). Our tattooed shinigami needs a busty, tall woman to compliment his own stature :D

Byakuya is on the move. Been wanting to bring him in. So who is he able to track down so easily, hmm?

So Orihime has gone from being useful to being dangerous and mysterious. That's all I'm going to say about that, aside from the fact that Ulquiorra has been having a really bad day, lol. And that I now know exactly how this story is going to end, but that's a long ways away so don't worry about that.

I think that's the first appearance Kon has made. Well, I never liked him much, but they couldn't very well leave him behind...

And who was the woman that Rangiku and Gin met? Again, not going to say anything else, just food for thought.

Toshiro and Karin are still having problems, stupid boys, lowl. And who did Uryu see? I wonder... actually I don't because it's pretty obvious. So many questions yet no answers. All in due time my friends, due time.

The more I write this story, the more the title makes sense.

Hope you loved better than the last one!

Toodles

Leave a review and you earn a virtual cookie straight out of my Macbook oven :D Though they are invisible... but you'll get one I promise!


	27. Mystery Man in My Head

**The Definition of Love**

_"Every **night **I **rush **to my **bed**_  
_With **hopes **that maybe I'll get a chance to **see you**_  
_When I **close **my **eyes **I'm going **out of my head**_  
_**Lost **in a **fairytale**, can you **hold **my **hands **and be my **guide**?_

_**Clouds **filled with **stars **cover the **skies**_  
_And I hope it **rains**, you're the perfect **lullaby**_  
_What kinda **dream **is this?_

_You could be a **sweet dream** or a **beautiful nightmare**_  
_Either way I don't wanna **wake up from you**"_

_**Sweet Dreams - Beyonce**  
_

**Chapter 27: Mystery Man in My Head  
**

"What the hell is he doing?" She'd only been in the bathroom, yet the second she'd come back… She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest angrily. Ichigo in turn glanced up at her innocently from his spot on a stool, a pool stick in his hands.

"Er," he wasn't quite sure how to explain. "He said something about-"

"I don't care what he said," she hissed, her brown eyes narrowing lethally at her boyfriend. He was some yards away, leaning against the bar talking to two women. They were obviously quite a bit older than all of them, but that fact wasn't stopping the sixth. Like some Olympic pro, he was smiling cockily, his blue eyes dangerous as he flirted. And they were replying back with just as much vigor. Dressed in swimsuits and tiny shorts, one might be convinced they had only come in for a drink after being in the pool, that is, except for the fact that they weren't wet.

"Tatsuki," Ichigo tried again, "he said he was just going to try and get some free-"

"I said I don't care!" she snapped as her brown eyes landed on the orange haired shinigami. He in turn shrank away from her, his face paling. He may not have been very experienced with women romantically, but everyone knew that when one stared at you like that, it was best to just get out of the way.

Her gaze snapped back over to the blue haired teenager who was now speaking, his sharp canines showing as one of them touched his arm and laughed. She'd considered going right over and yelling at him, but as she seethed, a better idea came to mind. Two could play at this game. She wasn't overly confident with her looks, but she knew she was in good shape and could attract plenty of the sleazy guys sitting around at the bar.

"Uh, Tatsuki…" Chad glanced at Ichigo, his voice unsure, and the shinigami could only shrug in response. Removing her sweatshirt, the karate champion sported a tight-fitting tank top. Paired with her denim shorts, it was a rather revealing ensemble compared to her normal attire, but not nearly as bad as some of the other women around them. Still, she was already drawing attention.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Ichigo tried again, but she ignored him. Walking past them without even looking back, she headed for the other end of the bar, as far away from Grimmjow as possible, and seated herself next to an older gentleman in a wealthy suit. Ordering some kind of nonalcoholic drink, it wasn't long before she had started conversation with him. And he seemed more than happy to reply.

"This isn't going to end well," Chad decided as Grimmjow cast the two women he'd been speaking with a final, seductive stare and headed back to the pool table. He appeared extremely satisfied, a cocky smile on his face. Ichigo sighed.

"Okay," he started once he'd reached them again. "That was way too fuckin' easy. Now all we have to do is stand here in all our sexiness, play some pool, and I bet money we get free drinks sometime before morning. Underage, whatever, if someone else buys it for us…" Picking up his pool stick, he took chalk to it and paused, his brows furrowing. "Where's Tatsuki anyway? She went into the bathroom ages ago…"

"Uh…" Ichigo glanced at Chad, who could only shrug. "I think she's," the orange haired teenager motioned to the bar, "over there…" Eyes narrowed, the sixth scanned the area until he spotted her. Nostrils flaring, the other two could practically see the vein popping in his forehead.

"What the _fuck_ is she doing?" he hissed, his lips tightening into a frown. She was laughing stupidly as the man in the suit acted out some story, though it was obvious his eyes were travelling around places other than her face, which only stemmed her boyfriend's anger further, his face becoming a dangerous shade of red.

"Well, she saw you and-"

"I'm gonna kick her ass," he muttered as he threw the stick down on the pool table and stomped away. Ichigo sighed as he turned in his stool to watch the exchange, Chad coming up behind him. This wasn't going to be good, and now they definitely wouldn't get any free drinks from adoring women. They'd see that Grimmjow was just a jealous boyfriend and forget him.

If the group of teenagers didn't get kicked out first. Ichigo hadn't seen the two fight before, but he had an inkling it probably wasn't pretty…

"Hey!" the sixth bellowed as he grabbed his girlfriend around the arm and spun her in her stool. She was momentarily surprised to see him, but her gaze quickly turned to one of anger and irritation. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ichigo could practically see the lightning sparking between them and his shoulders dropped. All he'd wanted to do was play pool…

"What's it to you asshole?" she replied as she yanked her limb out of his grip. He growled in reply, the man in the suit staring at them with wide eyes. Grimmjow was a rather large, muscular guy after all; he was pretty scary to humans. "It's none of your business!"

"None of my business?" he replied. "None of my _fucking_ business?" he leaned forward, pressing down on her as they came face to face, his hands leaning against the bar behind her. Ichigo rose to his feet, tense. He knew Tatsuki was more than capable of taking care of herself, and he didn't think Grimmjow would sink so low as to hit a girl, but still… "I'm pretty sure that since I'm your _boyfriend_," he muttered dangerously, "that it _is_ my fucking business."

"Fuck you!" she spat, their noses only inches away as they stared dangerously at each other. Ichigo felt his mood dropping. It had been fun at first, seeing Grimmjow play those women, but now he wondered if it had even been worth it. The entire room had fallen silent, everyone's eyes on the fighting individuals at the bar.

"Oh? Were you considering it? Because it looked to me like you had someone _else_ in mind!" he snarled in reply. The dark haired woman's hands balled into fists and Ichigo was just about to step in and break them apart when-

"Ichigo, Chad!" Turning their heads, the two spotted Uryu coming through the doorway, his hood pulled over his head. "Where are Tatsuki and Grimmjow?" he asked, his breath coming somewhat quickly as though he'd been running. Ichigo sighed and looked to the bar. "Hey!" Uryu yelled at them and they whipped around to look at him, their anger still apparent. "I don't know what you two are fighting about, but we've got bigger problems so get over here." They could hear it in his voice despite their heated heads, that serious beyond serious tone. Glancing once more at his girlfriend, the sixth snapped his hands back and walked away. She got up and followed soon after.

"What is it?" Grimmjow growled once he'd approached them. Tatsuki came up soon after, her arms crossed over her chest as she took up a stool next to Ichigo. The rest of the room, now that the couple was no longer causing a scene, slowly returned to what they'd been doing previously.

"You'll never guess who's here," the Quincy continued under his breath as he pressed his glasses further up on his nose. "It's the lieutenant of squad twelve, that Nemu woman." Ichigo's eyes widened. "I don't know how she found us, but we need to think, and fast, before she sees one of us and reports our location."

"Well what the hell are we supposed to do?" Ichigo asked. "Leave? If she found us here then she'll just keep following us wherever we go." Pulling out his cell phone, the Quincy scrolled his contacts until he found Urahara's number. He hated depending on the shinigami, but hell, he didn't know what they needed to do. He didn't know anything about Soul Society.

"_Hello Uryu_," he stated joyfully. "_How can I help you? Jeez, you guys sure are calling a lot today, and here I thought you'd be able to make it on your own._"

"They found us," he hissed as the other four around him listened. "Nemu Kurotsuchi is here. She hasn't seen us yet, but with us all together, she will soon. Do you know any way we can apprehend her or-"

"_Well that's not good,_" the candy salesman replied with a sigh. "_I can help you of course. Don't get caught by her wherever you are, but get somewhere secluded and open the window. I'll talk to you later._" And then he hung up. Pulling the phone away from his ear, the Quincy stared down at it thoughtfully before relaying the message. Nodding, his friends forgot about their game, and everything else, in order to focus on not getting caught.

Watchfully, they left the pool table behind and headed back to their room. Deciding the stairs were a safer option, they clamored up them and soon reached their hall. Rushing to their room, the Ichigo threw open the door and they all filed in.

"Open the window," Uryu commanded as Grimmjow was rushing over to do just that. Ulquiorra stared at them with narrowed eyes from his spot sitting on his bed, and Orihime came walking out of the bathroom in a tank top and shorts, a toothbrush shoved precariously in her mouth.

"What's going on?" she asked when she caught the serious faces of her friends. Tatsuki quickly explained and the redhead's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Rushing back into the bathroom, she rinsed her mouth before bouncing back out to join them.

"Why'd we open the window?" Grimmjow asked as he stuck his head outside into the night air. Just a single panel of the large glass pane had been slid to the side, the screen removed rather forcefully. It was a large expanse really. Ichigo could have shoved the sixth right out if he'd wanted to.

Too bad that'd cause a scene.

"What is that?" Chad asked as he peered out into the night. The others copied him and soon a small object whizzed into the room past Grimmjow head, the speed at which it was moving grazing the sixths hair dangerously as his eyes widened. Jumping out of the way, the rest of them watched as the thing collided with the wall. Sticking their forcibly, Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, and Chad all half expected it to explode into red print, but thankfully it merely did nothing.

"What is it?" Ulquiorra asked warily as the slimy looking maroon colored sphere stared back at them. He could have fit it easily in the palm of his hand, yet the fourth wasn't sure he wanted to go near it, let alone touch it. If it was something Urahara had cooked up, who knows what it did.

Nearly causing them all to jump out of their pants, it yelled joyfully at them.

"_Hello!_" it exclaimed, the male voice behind it obviously the previous captain of squad twelve. "_Sorry I gave you all that scare,_" the sound was slightly garbled, but understandable. "_Fastest way to get it here. Anyway, I've sent you something that may help you with your problem._" The small sphere started to shiver before the front opened up. Another black sphere seeped out then and fell to the ground. "_I've given you all another portable gigai. This one is different from yours however, so don't put it on._" They all listened as the small black marble rolled across the carpet. "_It's locked, which means whoever puts it on can't get it off without my help. I've also placed a block and deceive shield inside it. I know Kurotsuchi and I have no doubt that sensors and tracking devices have been premade into his lieutenant._" Grimmjow and Ulquiorra stared at each other. Premade? What did that mean? Tatsuki didn't understand the term either, but refused to look around for answers in fear of catching a certain someone's eye. "_The shield I've placed in that container will stop her from contacting him and send any signals attached to her to random locations around the globe, that way he won't be able to find you. You see, had I just blocked the signal, he'd have just come to the location where it disappeared and you'd all still be found. Hopefully this will deter the Captain of her squad._" Pause. "_So yup, there ya go. Just get that in her mouth and pop, she's practically harmless._" And as simple as that the dark red bullet/recorder/container melted and seeped down the wall, creating a rather big mess for them to clean up.

Uryu leaned forward and picked up the gigai. "So how are we going to do this?" he asked thoughtfully, more to himself than to anyone else. "We can't just walk up to her, who knows how she's able to contact her squad. And sneaking up behind her could prove fruitless if we can't make her open her mouth…"

"Well…" Orihime glanced at her best friend. "She's never met or seen pictures of Tatsuki right?" the redhead placed her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "So maybe if she just… talks to her or something…"

"Humans shouldn't be able to see her," Uryu replied. "She'd easily be able to deduce that Tatsuki could be a part of our party. Not only that, but, uh, that weird Captain Kurotsuchi does a lot of crazy research, who knows how many of us he's investigated. She might know who Tatsuki is."

"I say we just ambush her," Ichigo stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. Grimmjow nodded in agreement and Uryu rolled his eyes.

"I already explained why we can't do that," the Quincy stated as he shook his head. "Besides, she's a lieutenant, one that was created like a robot or something; she has all kinds of weird skills and abilities. If we just attack her then the odds of keeping the violence to a minimum would be slim. It'd be different if she was outside, but we'd end up destroying the hotel if we fought with her in here. And it's not like we could lure her outside or something, not without risking her reporting to her superiors upon seeing us."

"Well what the fuck do we do?" Grimmjow was growing impatient. "We have to do something quick before she finds us. If she could track us down from Soul Society then she'll have no problem finding us up here." That was true they all realized. They needed to act fast.

"What about Orihime's shields?" Tatsuki spoke up. "They block reiatsu, we know that, but do you think they could block other stuff too? You think it could stop her from sending messages to her squad about our location?" They were all silent as they considered the idea.

"It probably would," Uryu finally began. "The purpose of her powers is to reject, so it would probably reject anything that came at it, or in this case tried to escape it. Based on what happened earlier, I'd assume that no matter how Lieutenant Kurotsuchi is able to contact her peers, it will intervene with that signal. I mean, if it can reject memories, nothing manmade is going to get through it either."

"There is still a problem with that," Ulquiorra's voice was calm despite their rather dire situation. "If that is the case then were we to use a shield over her while we captured her, any tracers on her would disappear from where they were being sent. Even if we managed to do it in less than five seconds, someone in Soul Society might find it odd that her existence disappeared before suddenly reappearing somewhere else."

Silence.

"Well what do we do then?" Orihime asked quietly. They were running out of ideas and options. Urahara had helped them along, but they couldn't depend on him for everything.

"I think we're just going to have to take that chance," Ichigo decided. "We can always get on a plane and fly somewhere else after we get her. Even if they came here looking for us, they wouldn't be able to track us based on her previous location."

"I don't think it's that easy," Tatsuki sighed. "If we're the first group she's found then she was drawn to us for a reason," she shook her head. "There's too many of us together. If we're going to fly elsewhere then we might as well split up some more and hope that will diminish our chances of being caught." Glances were thrown around the room. "Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Ichigo need to stay together for obvious reasons, and Orihime needs to stay with them too. The rest of us should go somewhere else."

Her voice was cold, but no one missed the momentarily hurt expression that crossed the sixths face.

"I think she's right," Uryu added. "I know Urahara sent us here for certain reasons, but there are other locations that offer the same kind of space. I also say that even if we're splitting up, we need to stay in the USA. It will be easier to just jump a plain and get out of here as fast as we can that way."

"We don't know anything about this country," Ichigo argued. "How are we supposed to know where to go?" Uryu sat back on a bed and pulled out his laptop.

"Listen," he stared at them as the machine started to boot up. "I'll do some research and buy the plane tickets if you guys capture Nemu. By the time you're done I'll have figured it all out, okay?" They nodded. "Tatsuki has a laptop too, she can help me."

"Alright," Ulquiorra agreed, "this is how it is going to go then, because I am not going to let you two screw this up." He stared at Grimmjow and Ichigo. "My Woman is going to cast a shield over us and we are going to drop our bodies here. We'll head downstairs with her following behind with the shield still over us. As soon as we see the shinigami, we will apprehend her. The shield should be over her too at that point. Chad," he turned to the big man, "I do not know this woman or her strength. It could take all three of us to hold her down. You take the gigai and as soon as the situation presents itself, get it in her mouth." Uryu handed the marble to the big man who nodded.

"Let's do this then," Ichigo stated, his face serious as he pulled out his substitute shinigami badge. Nodding, Orihime took a deep breath, only slightly hesitant, before she shook her head and forced an unconnected orange barrier around the three men. Passing the badge around, the three dropped their bodies to the carpet.

"Let's get this done as fast as possible," Grimmjow muttered as he threw open the door, an orange haze in front of his face, and headed back out into the hallway.

"We don't know where she is," Ichigo stated, his hand on the zanpakuto strapped to his back. "We need to make sure we see her before she sees us. This orange barrier isn't exactly invisible." Orihime and Chad followed behind silently as they headed down the hallway.

"She's downstairs," Ulquiorra confirmed. "I sense a foreign reiatsu down there, one that's being suppressed. I can't imagine it's anyone else." Some of them nodded they headed once again to the stairs. It would be best to avoid as many humans as possible for fear of dragging them into the whole situation.

Creeping down to the bottom floor, they slowly shoved the door open and peered out into the lobby. There were still people around, too many for comfort, but none of them were dressed like a shinigami.

"I think she's over that way," Orihime stated as she pointed down a hallway.

"In the bar we were just in?" Grimmjow asked. "You think she could already trace us there?" Ichigo shrugged as he stepped out into the open. All of them silent once again, they made their way through the lobby as Orihime pushed the shield along over them. And as they turned to the bar, they spotted her.

"Right where we were standing," Ichigo muttered as they stared at her black. She stood between two pool tables, her stature straight as an arrow. "C'mon, she'll sense us if we don't do something soon." Ulquiorra cast his girlfriend an eye and she nodded. The three brothers in turn all glanced at each before flashing out into the open.

Stretching the barrier as the brunette turned around, Orihime encompassed nearly the whole room as the three drew their swords, surrounding the lieutenant. Ulquiorra placed his across her throat, her hands dragged back behind her by his free grip. Grimmjow had bent down and wrapped his arm around her legs, pulling them together as he let his blade sit threateningly against her thighs, and Ichigo grabbed the front of her kimono, his zanpakuto's tip hovering right over her heart.

She hardly blinked as she stared at them, her green eyes completely unfazed. But they had to act quickly.

"How did you find us?" Ulquiorra asked against her ear. At first they thought she wasn't going to reply, her gaze slowly drifting around the room as she examined the shield. Tensing, the three men waited for her to somehow make a move, attack them, something.

"It was easy," she finally replied as she stared at Ichigo. "There's so many of you that-"

And it was done. True to his word, Chad took advantage of the first opportunity he got. Her mouth had been open so he clapped his big hand over her lips, shoving the gigai inside at the same time.

Dropping her, they watched as her eyes widened, the artificial body forming around her soul. Like some kind of invisible glue, it spread over her, creating a transparent field stuck to her body. Sinking to the floor, she coughed, her arms shaking as her power was quickly drained. And out of thin air popped a US ID and a passport with her pictures on them. Another trick of Urahara's no doubt.

Grabbing her up, Chad pulled her over his shoulder and headed to the door, others in the room staring at him in bewilderment.

"Too much to drink," Orihime told them as she pushed the shield along over the three shinigami, her nervous laughter apparent even to the most drunk.

**oOo**

"I've been waiting for five days for you to find me," he stated without looking up. "I've been expecting you." Taking hold of a crystal glass, he filled it about halfway with the sweet smelling wine encased in an intricate bottle. "I sensed you only yesterday when you waltzed into the human world."

"It seems that despite your vacation, you're skills have not suffered," the man replied as he took a graceful seat in the chair across from his host. "Even after all that stealth training we did under Yoruichi together, I would have expected that you'd have let yourself go enough for me to at least catch you off guard."

"You underestimate me," he replied with a chuckle as he handed the glass over. His guest took it without a word, the stem of the fragile piece of dish-ware nestled delicately between two of his fingers. "Just because I abandoned Soul Society doesn't mean I abandoned my powers."

"I heard otherwise," he stated coldly as he took a sip of the beverage. "But that's neither here nor there, is it not?" The host nodded in agreement. "You know why I'm here." He didn't glance up as he uttered that last, his icy gaze instead holding his reflection in the glass.

"I have a vague idea," the other replied. "Of course, if you expect me to just bend to your demands Byakuya, you have another thing coming. You forget that pride runs just as strong in my family as it does yours. I was once on your status after all."

"Once, yes," the captain of the sixth squad acknowledged, "but you gave that all up Isshin so using it as a defense is rather futile." Still their eyes did not meet. "It's a pity really, your treacherous past. Your family has completely fallen from grace." The father of three closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath.

"I had expected as much when I left," he shook his head. "So the noble houses are down from five to four, what a pity." He took a sip from his own wine glass.

"You don't seem at all perturbed by this," Byakuya started. "Though I suppose you already knew. With the right connections that is." He paused for only a second. "You must have heard about your older brother's unfortunate demise then. A pity really, he may have very well been able to stomp out your disgraces. Instead his death only amplified them and led to your family's complete downfall."

"Yes, he very well would have been able too," the brunette agreed. "That was some twenty years ago however, there is no hope now. I suppose the family left in ruin my siblings and hogged the fortune to themselves before going into hiding. Typical."

"That is a fair enough assessment," his old friend confirmed. "Your two surviving siblings have done well however, at least as well as to be expected. Though despite this, I doubt they would be happy to hear that you're still alive." The host scoffed and chuckled.

"I believe you," he shook his head. "My sister probably erased me from the family records entirely, just like Soul Society had before Ichigo brought me back to their attention." He took another sip of his wine. "And my youngest brother probably doesn't even have any memories of me. I'm sure that as far as he's concerned, he has only two siblings."

"That sounds about right," the captain stated bluntly. "You know your son encountered them on his first trip to Soul Society. From what I heard, they didn't get along very well, though I suppose that's to be expected considering he's exactly like you used to be. Inconsiderate, disrespectful. A complete nuisance."

"Well I heard you tried to kill him on more than one occasion," the brunette replied with a grin. "And don't tell me you didn't know who he was. You knew the name of the woman I was going after. I would never do you the disrespect of assuming your superior mind couldn't put two and two together."

"I'm glad you're finally acknowledging my intellect," the captain replied as he set his beverage down on the table. His eyes drifted lazily over their surroundings, not really interested. It was just a quaint little lobby in a hotel near the center of the city. The air was crowded and dusty however, giving the whole place a musty feeling. "I don't think I'm the only one who figured it out however. The resemblance between them is rather uncanny and it's not every day you get a human turned shinigami. I'm sure your sister figured it out as well."

"Probably," Isshin affirmed as he gulped down the rest of his wine and refilled the glass. "She was always rather quick witted, and so she was always the dangerous one."

"Perhaps," the guest crossed his legs as he only slightly resituated himself in his seat, his black trousers riding up to reveal his black stockings and shining leather loafers. A simple white shirt and coat jacket completed the outfit. Even in gigai he tried to appear dignified. "We've gotten rather sidetracked however. I came here to get information." Finally their eyes met, deep gray and honey brown facing off. "I want to know where my sister is."

Isshin chuckled, his gaze falling away as quickly as it had been drawn up. "Well I could tell you where we sent them, that is, she was accompanied by your lieutenant, but they're probably long gone from there by now, if what Urahara mentioned is true." The captain narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "So I can't help you."

"Useless, as always," the cold man stated as he sat back in his seat. "I'd inquire into what Urahara had to say about it, but I doubt I want to know." Again the brunette laughed. "In any case, it is apparent that coming to see you was a fruitless endeavor."

"I'd hardly say that," the ex-captain replied. "You've found some of the traitors, certainly you're going to be the law abiding captain and turn us in." Their eyes met for the second time.

"Us?" Byakuya questioned. "How many of you are here?"

"I thought you'd never ask," the brunette grinned. "Only three including myself, and one of them is my human daughter, so she's basically innocent. The other…" The Kuchiki clan leader waited. "Let me ask you something Byakuya, and perhaps from this question you'll learn to understand why I have once again sullied my name and brought it to the forefront of Soul Society's attention." Turning in his seat, the traitor placed his elbows on the table, his hands twining together in front of his face. "You and I have a lot in common my old friend, so though this question may catch you off guard, try to answer it honestly."

"Get on with it already Isshin."

"Impatient as always," the brunette muttered. "My question is this. If you could be given a second chance with your dead wife right now… would you take it?" The captain narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I'm failing to understand what this question has to do with anything," he decided bitterly. "You act as if such a thing were possible, which it's not. Only a fool would even humor such inquiries, a fool that had nothing better to do other than live his life in despair."

"That's where you're wrong," Isshin was suddenly serious as well. "That very notion has to do with _everything_. It's why I'm here." The other pursed his lips, what was he talking about? "My wife died Byakuya; she was devoured by a hollow during a time when I was powerless. But that's the whole point," he could see the gears working in his friends skull.

"If what you're saying is true," the gray eyed man's voice echoed monotonously, "then you are the luckiest man I've ever met." Leaning back in his chair, the brunette relaxed. "She was one of them then, the Espada." Isshin nodded and Byakuya shook his head. "Unbelievable…"

"You don't need to tell me twice," the ex-captain agreed.

"Tell you what twice?" both men's gazes were drawn to the short blonde girl that had just hopped into the room. She was staring at them curiously, her big eyes innocent. "Who's this dad?"

"Yuzu," her father beckoned her over and she sidled her way up to the table. "This is an old friend of mine, Byakuya Kuchiki." She cocked her head to the side momentarily, her brows furrowing in thought, that is, until a sudden realization crossed her features.

"Oh!" she squeaked. "You're Rukia's older brother! She's talked about you before!" And then her face dropped, her face paling. "And you're with Soul Society, and you're a captain…" Her eyes flitted back and forth between her father and the strange man, uncertainty written there.

"You're daughter is very well versed it seems," the captain stated as he glanced once again at his host. He in turn scoffed.

"If I had it my way that wouldn't be the case," he replied. "But with Ichigo being a shinigami, me being one, Karin being one, and her mother… well I suppose the truth was bound to come out eventually."

"Karin?" Byakuya questioned.

"Yuzu's twin sister," he replied and the little blonde girl relaxed at the cool way in which her father was speaking with the new shinigami. Though she didn't appreciate being talked about as though she wasn't there. "It's an unfortunate story really, though I doubt you want to hear it. She's training under Captain Hitsugaya now. Like he and Ichigo, she's something of a prodigy."

"What an unfortunate family you have," the gray eyed man decided. "You go and betray Soul Society, yet your offspring are breaking records in learning time and generational standards. Like you and your brother, you have more than one powerful soul in a single family. Had you not run off to the human world and your brother died, you're family would no doubt be the most powerful of us all." He frowned. "I do not think however that I would be comfortable with the thought of Ichigo being next in line to be head of house. He's far too much like you."

"You forget that my _human_ wife contributed just as equally to the production of my children. Without her, they may not have become what they are today." Yuzu listened silently, her nerves slowly getting irritated as they acted like she wasn't even there.

"Hey," she spoke up and they glanced at her once again. She looked at her father. "Isn't he a bad guy?" She placed her hands on her hips and her guardian sighed.

"I haven't decided yet," the brunette replied. "Though it sounds to me like he's working under his own agenda, not Soul Society's. Would I be right in this assumption Byakuya?" Again the old friends glanced at each other.

"For now," he stated. "Though once I find the reason behind Rukia's treachery, I will decide what to do about this whole situation." Isshin grinned wickedly. This he enjoyed. Certainly the stuck-up captain of the sixth squad would have a few choice words pertaining to what the traitor was just about to relay to him.

"Well _I_ can tell you that," he stated and the other narrowed his eyes. "That's easy. She betrayed you guys because Ichigo did." Still the older brother didn't seem to comprehend. "Ichigo sided with the hollow because of his mother, and Rukia sided with them because of Ichigo." The corner of Byakuya's lips twitched in annoyance. "It's kind of ironic isn't it?" Isshin was still smiling. "Were I still an accepted part of the noble families, a pairing between my son and your sister would have been encouraged, yet now it seems… you feel otherwise."

"This is idiotic," the captain stated shortly and his counterpart chuckled. "Are you telling me my sister left behind her entire life, her family, because she's inappropriately gallivanting with the son of a treacherous betrayer?" he shook his head. "And he's half human to top it off. Completely unfathomable."

Isshin frowned. "If I remember correctly Byakuya," he started seriously, "she would not be the first one in the Kuchiki clan to choose an inappropriate mate and then go against both family and the law to stay with them." Having nothing to say, the captain seethed in his seat. "Not only that," the father furrowed his brows, "but isn't Ichigo some kind of war hero or something? You should think more highly of him."

"Maybe if he'd stop calling me by my first name…" The brunette rolled his eyes.

"I'm confused," Yuzu frowned. "Who were you dad? Before you met mom?"

"That's a bit of a loaded question Yuzu," all eyes were drawn up at another female voice. She was tall and blonde, and Byakuya could only assume she was the third of their party. "Byakuya Kuchiki," she stated, her green eyes calculating as a tauntingly pleasant smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "I thought I'd sensed some unfamiliar reiatsu."

"Tia Harribel," he stated coldly. "The third seat of the Espada."

"Former," she corrected and her gaze fell on Isshin. "I hope you're not stirring up trouble," she crossed her arms under her breasts. "We really couldn't afford that." In other words, you better make sure this guy isn't a threat or you're going to have to pay for it later.

"Not trying to," he confirmed. "Captain Kuchiki's just here looking for his sister." She nodded in understanding. "But I told him we couldn't help him, she's probably long gone from Cape Town by now."

"Cape Town?" the cold man questioned. "That's a city in the south of Africa, isn't it?" Isshin nodded. "Perhaps if I go there, I'll get a trace on her." He was thinking now, his hand to his chin as his gray eyes clouded over.

"I would encourage you to do so," Harribel replied. "From your rather still disposition, I think it's safe to assume you don't know what she and Renji Abarai are up too. Isshin does not feel a need to intervene, but I don't agree with what they're doing, it's dangerous." His gray eyes travelled to her green ones.

"I knew I wouldn't like this," the captain stated. "Please, enlighten me."

**oOo**

Placing his elbow on the table, he waited as the last of them took their seats. Most faces were unhappy and annoyed, but they always were when he called these meetings. Honestly, he kind of assumed it was all an act. If they didn't want to come then they didn't have to, but what he was offering them was too great a temptation.

As it turns out, the ten Espada were not the only hollow offered the choice of humanity versus their old lives. The ten (eleven including Nel) had been drawn together in that void, but others who had faced death had also been forced to make a decision. And unlike the six that had chosen humanity, none of the others had made a similar decision, at least not that he knew of.

He attributed it to the method in which they had gained their power. He was no fool, he acknowledged their strength, understood that their roots as humans gave them an advantage in that respect. But that's where it ended. Their attachments would be their downfall. Perhaps their human sides had granted them greater power as hollow, but if his plans succeeded, that would be the least of their worries.

"What did you call us together for?" she crossed her arms over her chest and waited impatiently, her dark, purplish pigtails bouncing on her shoulders. Szayel sighed in return, his gaze going from the long white table at which they sat to the empty throne some ways above them.

"It's time we started discussing our futures," he replied. The nine others seated before him looked at each other, but said nothing, and he surveyed them in the silence. To say the Espada had come back together might be a fine way of putting it. Six of its original members, including himself, had gathered as well was four more who had been deemed worthy of the honor.

Yammy still stayed at zero in his released form, though at ten otherwise. He sat, seeming bored, his huge body barely able to fit at the table shrouded in the shadows of Las Noches.

Nnoitra had claimed the number one spot, his tongue tattoo proof enough of that. There were some that disagreed with his position and had gone about trying to prove as much, but Szayel had prevented any serious fighting by imprinting the thought in them of even greater power if they would only be patient and work together.

Baraggan remained as number two, though a bit unwillingly. He didn't like the plan and had threatened to leave multiple times. He felt that Las Noches belonged to him and that he should be king, but the only reason he had even been allowed to talk of such a position to begin with was because none of the other hollow had originally cared what he did. Now though, it was either go with the group or be destroyed. Thus he sat at the table with them.

Szayel himself sat at number three though he knew he deserved higher. In any case it wasn't worth trying to sort our currently. Everyone would get their just deserts in due time.

Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio had overtaken seat number four. He'd originally been defeated by Ichigo early on and hadn't promised much in the way of strength, but he'd worked his way back up and was loyal to the cause, so they let him and his annoying attitude stay.

The only female among them was Cirucci Sanderwicci in seat number five. Taken out by the Quincy during the war, she was rather sour about it and had every intention of getting revenge. So long as Szayel could promise her that, she had no problem working with them, though her somewhat bratty tendencies did drive them all up a wall at times.

Six had been claimed by Luppi as it had been in the past when Grimmjow had momentarily lost his status. Needless to say, his cooperation was driven by the soul need to want to annihilate the man that had destroyed him. He'd wanted to enter the world of the living and act on his revenge sooner, but Szayel had stopped him. It was better that those in the human world know as little as possible about their forces, and that meant those who had turned back to hollows without their knowledge should remain in Hueco Mundo.

Seven was still Zommari, he hadn't had an opinion otherwise. He felt that their labels were rather fruitless at this point considering their constantly shifting power levels, so he stayed out of the politics.

In fact eight and nine did as well. Eight had been claimed by the orange haired, afro sporting Gantenbainne Mosqueda, merely because it was the only spot remaining when he'd showed up.

And at number nine was Aaroniero. Since the dome of Las Noches had been destroyed, he'd graced them all with the much more appealing appearance of Kaien Shiba. It didn't however make him anymore talkative; he was silent most of the time, seeming just along for the ride.

That was the thing that annoyed Szayel the most. None of them were invested in what was happening. They all had their own agendas; they had no higher power to follow and were thus mostly going along on their own paths.

That would change soon though. Soon they'd have a power to obey, one that would destroy them with ease if they didn't.

"Our futures?" the female voice of number five echoed. "Are you telling us that this 'plan' of yours is finally making progress? Or are you here to tell us you failed?" The pink haired man glared at her, but didn't give into her taunts. Instead he sat back in his tall seat, his fingers coming together in front of his face.

"I'm telling you all to prepare. Things are starting to pick up and it won't be long now," he smiled. "The soul is gaining more and more solidity with each day. Progress has commenced at a steady rate and if I can play my cards right, I may be able to hasten it yet." Again dubious glances were thrown around the room.

"And what does this mean for us?" Luppi asked, his voice upbeat. "You said that this wasn't like the Hogyoku, so how exactly is this going to help us get stronger?" His question had been one many had wanted to ask.

"You should consider the fact that it's not like the Hogyoku a good thing," the scientist explained. "The Hogyoku granted us power by making us more like shinigami, unintentionally making us more like humans. Hence so many of our comrades felt the need to betray us. But this… this being is a powerhouse all alone. With him at our sides, we will gain power through sheer amounts of reiatsu, not trickery cast by the Hogyoku." He was thoughtful. "You see, the more we are around him, feeling his power, the more reiatsu we can absorb and carry, and that allows us to become stronger."

"And this being, he will be our leader?" it was Baraggan. "Do you know anything of him? His personality, his goals? You may claim that he is powerful, and I don't doubt that based on the results we're already seeing, but does he want to be in charge? And if he doesn't, who then will be?"

"Don't worry about that," Szayel replied with a chuckle. "The connection is weak, but because of recent development, he has at times been conscious enough to hear and speak, though weakly and with much effort. I have explained to him what we're doing and I can assure you that he is more than happy with how this is all going. His first order of business will be to destroy Soul Society."

"Good new, huh," Nnoitra interjected with a laugh. "Sure he may be able to communicate, but what about that transparency issue?"

"I've figured that out actually, and it's safe to say it won't be a problem," the pink haired man sighed as he was sent into another explanation. "Right now he appears in a ghost form because we are forcibly separating him from his body, but as soon as the transfer in finalized, once he's in complete control, those crucial things will be drawn to him and he will become whole. It's very complicated to describe, but let's just say it's something like a… a flat teeter-totter. On one end is all the weight, but I have forcibly taken some and placed it on the opposing side. And due to my continuous interference, more has started to accumulate. Soon, the balance will even out, and with the correct kind of push, the scales will fall in our direction, sending all that remaining baggage down to us as well, thus completing his transformation."

"What about that extra 'baggage' as you so call it?" Luppi asked, his mood never seeming to deteriorate. "Will it pose a threat to him?"

"No, I don't think so," Szayel confirmed. "So long as he can carry out his plans and access his power, nothing should be able to stop him."

"How much longer then?" Yammy asked irritably, their chairs were too small for him and he was starting to experience discomfort.

"I can't give an exact date, but if I can execute my next plan without fail, things will get interesting very, very soon. Just be ready, for the next time I call us together, we will have a new comrade, one with ambitions and power that can satisfy all of you. Of that I am positive."

"And the humans and Shinigami… they know nothing? Not even Kisuke Urahara?" Zommari's question was simply answered.

"They have no idea," the scientist assured.

**oOo**

"I don't understand," she shook her head in awe, her fingers outstretched yet frozen as she stared, gaping, at the presentation before her. "It doesn't make any sense. How could she possibly come up with things like this if… if she shouldn't have any memory?" Her silver haired partner stood beside her, his navy-blue striped suit clashing greatly with her bright red cocktail dress. His white loafers didn't help much either. At least his undershirt was black.

"It's interestin,'" he commented, "yet not completely out of the question." Rangiku glanced up at her significant other with curious eyes as his grin spread wider. "When she died, her heart had been in distress. Some might say her death was _caused_ by this sorrow. When the dead enter Soul Society, it's so that they may find peace before, much later, once again entering the world of the living. But she never found that, instead she was transferred back prematurely, before she'd had enough time to live the long life granted her. That her mind would conjure such images is not unfathomable. Somewhere her soul is mournin' for the loss she couldn't alleviate before."

"But looking at these paintings…" the strawberry blonde moved onto the next one. "One would almost think that she remembered. I mean look at this Gin, it has a striking resemblance to the Kuchiki manner. There's no mistaking that. It has the bridge… everything."

"Regainin' memories of past lives ain't completely unheard of among humans either," the fox-faced man assured. "Most of the time they also have the ability to see ghosts and usin' their limited spiritual abilities can even tap into other human's feelins' and memories. I believe they are referred to as psychics and are often times considered outcasts among the general populace."

"That's so bizarre," the ex-lieutenant breathed. "So those people are souls that couldn't find peace… that's sort of sad… in a way…" And her feelings were only more justified by the next painting they found themselves at. Set in a bedraggled street ally in the middle the night, it was colored in hues of blue and black, a small bundle of abandoned child leaning against the wall in a pool of blood. It was safe to assume that the helpless soul was dead. "I almost wish we could do something…"

"So do I," Gin assured. "These estranged peoples will most likely eventually fall victim to their nameless sorrows and become hollows in death." Rangiku looked up at him then, wanting to say something to further her case, but was interrupted.

"I'm so glad you both came!" her voice was soft yet excited and they both turned to greet her. Hair pulled back in a graceful bun, only the tresses down the center of her face remained unbound. She wore a cocktail dress as black as night, her purpled eyes seeming alight with more color against her pale skin and dark attire. "I wanted to thank you again for your help," she smiled, "and for something else too. I don't know what it is about you two, but as soon as we parted ways I was suddenly inspired, that is, by the both of you." She laughed. "You may not be able to tell by the painting, but I almost felt as though… as though I'd met you before."

"Well that's… silly," Rangiku cast her taller counterpart a glance and laughed nervously. Luckily, their guest didn't seem to notice.

"Did ya finish it?" Gin asked curiously. "I'd love to see what we inspired in ya." He had honestly only met her a handful of times before, but perhaps the mere presence of a shinigami had sparked something in her and her "inspiration."

"I did," she replied with a smile. "It's actually displayed. I replaced another of my older pieces with it. It's just down this way." Following her past the display's, they found themselves before a large piece of art in quite the contrasting colors to the one they'd previously been standing at. "It took me all night and morning, but I'm satisfied with it."

Unlike the others, it was less literal and more representational. Sporting brighter colors and more contrast, the haste in which it was made was obvious. It had movement. Inside one could vaguely make out two figures. Once might assume they were dancing were it not for the red strips of paint gracing parts of the piece, hinting at a more violent message.

Two people fighting perhaps.

"It's beautiful," Rangiku assured with a smile. Needless to say she was more than flattered by being the inspiration for such a stunning artwork. "It's very different than all the others though." The artist nodded in agreement, her brows coming together.

"Yes," she paused. "I don't usually do the speed painting that I did with this one, most of my others are inspired by dreams," she smiled awkwardly. "I know that sounds crazy, but it's true." She again stared at the work thoughtfully. "But with this one… is more like a feeling, not a vision." She laughed, "Maybe it's a sign that I'm entering a new artist's period or something." Rangiku frowned, was their presence really affecting her that much?

"They say dreams reveal a lot about our inner selves," Gin replied, the grin never leaving his face. "I don't really buy into it myself, but some even claim that dreams are the keys to our souls, as if they could reveal things about us we never knew existed. I'm a little wary of considerin' the thought of my dreams bein' a reality however, some can be quite scary." They all laughed and Rangiku cast him a warning glance.

"I've thought about that too actually," she affirmed, her expression becoming serious once again as she moved onto the next display. "You're both going to think I'm insane," she blushed, "but some of my dreams are so vivid, it's almost like they're trying to tell me something, maybe about who I was… before now or who I'm going to become." Rangiku raised her eyebrows skeptically, though not for the reasons their guest assumed. She'd figured that much out? "I know, crazy…"

"Not at all," the ex-lieutenant assured quickly. "Please, go on, I find this very interesting. I'm not very spiritual you see," a lie, "and I find what you're saying fascinating."

"Really?" the dark haired woman smiled. "Usually when I try to explain my inspiration people don't understand. But, well like this one for example," they stared at the brightly painted piece before them. Set in a spring like setting, there were blossoming trees and what appeared to be an old Asian house. Yet set dead in the middle was a solidly black figure. "This one… this one was inspired by a dream a have a lot," she frowned suddenly, her eyes becoming lost. "It's always the same. It's continuously in this setting and… and there's a man, but I've… never seen his face. Every time he goes to turn around, I wake up." Her shoulders dropped and she sighed.

"Well," Gin shrugged, "who knows, maybe you'll meet this mystery man someday." She turned back to look at him, smiling, though there was a sadness on her face. It was then that they saw it in her, her soul. The one that was dragging her down.

"If I did," she sighed, "then I'd know I really _was_ insane." She backed up from the painting, her face suddenly closing up to them to reveal what she was feeling currently, an empty kind of joy at her own success. "I'm glad you both came tonight, I hope I've managed to bring you some sort of entertainment, but I have to leave you now. The opening is about to begin."

"It was a pleasure talkin' to ya again," Gin replied and Rangiku nodded in agreement.

"And you," she waved lightly before turning on her heel and beginning to walk away.

"Ah, hold on one sec," the ex-captain took a step forward. "I was just thinkin' about it and I'd love if you'd come to dinner with us later. Yer pieces and the stories behind them are… beautiful," he smiled wider and she stared back at him in slight surprise. "I'm actually a rather avid art collector," the strawberry-blonde wanted to roll her eyes, "and I'd love to add some of yer pieces to my collection."

"Really?" she smiled. "Well I have to stay here for the opening, but in about an hour I should be able to leave. Perhaps then we can speak business." He nodded, assuring her they would wait, and soon she was once again walking away.

**oOo**

"So was there anything in particular that caught your interest?" the three of them sat around a small round table near the center of a café type restaurant, their nice clothes a rather large contrast to the informal atmosphere. It was raining outside, but only slightly.

"Quite a few things actually," Gin replied as a waitress came around and set large, steaming cups of coffee in front of them. "Every paintin' you displayed seemed to have a story behind it, they were all quite interestin.' Very atmospheric."

"Well thank you," she laughed as she lifted the mug to her lips with both her small hands. Around them soft music played and others among them laughed and chattered. Overall it seemed a pleasant meeting place. "I haven't done a lot of sales for my most recently displayed works, but you can have your pick, they're all for sale."

"I must say," he sounded thoughtful though one couldn't really tell, what with his constantly grinning face. Rangiku sat beside him, silently listening to the exchange with tuned ears. She wasn't quite sure what Gin was after, but he was determined, of that she could tell. "That one that ya showed us, about the man, it really caught my interest." She raised her eyebrows as she listened. "It reminded me of someone I know back home. It's a sad story, one of great loss."

"Really?" she asked curiously. "I didn't mean to invoke sadness in the painting…"

"Well it ain't yer fault," he assured with a chuckle. "It's just the feelin' I get." She furrowed her brows curiously and he took that as hint enough to continue. After all, what artist didn't want to know what their works brought to others' minds? "He's only a little older than I am actually. Lives in a big manner all alone, no wife, no kids, just his sister." He shrugged.

"Sounds like a rather dismal existence," she replied, her eyebrows raised as she stared down at her coffee.

"It didn't use to be," the silver haired man continued. "It's a bit of a long story; I don't think you'd want to hear it." Her eyes flicked up to stare at him.

"No, please continue," she insisted. "Perhaps your story will inspire a face I can place on the mystery person in that painting. Things are always more meaningful when there's a tale to back it up."

"Well if you really want to hear it," the fox-faced man replied, his grin growing wider as he glanced down at Rangiku. She in turn rolled her eyes, unable to hide it any longer. Their guest stared between them curiously, but said nothing. "It starts out happy enough I 'spose. The man I was speakin' about was born into a rather rich, noble family. He was brought up arrogant and from a young age expected to do great things. He was lively and easily lost his temper. I'm a fair bit younger than him, like I said, and he kept away from the more common people, but the few times I did speak with him durin' that time, he seemed content with his life.

"Some years later he graduated from the private school we'd attended and joined up in the same organization that I was in. Being nobility and all, he was automatically famous and had to work hard to prove his rank above others. He always took extra jobs and was more often times than not absent.

"This of course led to him meetin' one woman in particular. There's a place outside my home called Rukongai, it's a very large district and inhabited by those less financially able. It was while patrollin' this area that he encountered her. Unconscious I believe, and starvin'. It ain't normally in our job description to help those that have failed to help themselves; we protect the people from things on the outside, not the inside. I can't say personally why he picked her up out of the mud and brought her home, but when I was speakin' to his best friend one night, he claimed that upon seein' her face, he was stricken down and had no choice. Others might call it love at first sight, but to each his own I 'spose."

"Sounds romantic," their guest hummed as she stared up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure I believe in such a thing, but I suppose if it were to happen to me, I'd have no choice." Rangiku smiled to herself, but then felt eyes staring down at her. Glancing up, she could just barely make out the bright turquoise eyes of her significant other beneath his silver hair.

"I believe in it," he stated quite solidly and the strawberry-blonde blushed before glancing away. Some seconds later she felt his own eyes leave her form, their guest smiling at them knowingly. "Which is why I find this story to be so utterly depressin'," he continued. "Here was this young man that had grown up in a tightly knit noble family, and he'd fallen in love with a grubby woman from Rukongai. Needless to say, his family did not approve in the least. You see, where I come from, a noble affiliatin' themselves with a commoner, it's practically breaking the law. But he persevered and usin' force as he was the head of the household by this time, he made his family accept her and they were married.

"It was short-lived however," he sighed. "You see, this woman had a lot a baggage she was draggin' around, a lot of grief, a lot of sorrow. She loved her husband, but there was always somethin' else on the forefront of her mind. That is, her little sister. Unable to support herself and a baby all alone, she'd abandoned her in the hopes of bein' able to at least save herself. And had her savior not found her, she probably would have failed at even that.

"Everyday she would wander down to Rukongai and search endlessly for her sister. Walkin' the streets, she'd hope to only get a glimpse of her. And her constant searchin' was so predominant in her mind that her health started to fail. Her husband loved her deeply and he wanted to stop her constant searches, but she was so guilty over it that not allowin' her to leave the house was unfathomable to him. Her heart was already on the brink of collapse; not lettin' her to continue on her mission would surely break it. Thus he watched on, his own heart crackin' a bit more everyday as she fruitlessly searched and searched. No longer in the mind of simply survivin', she slowly withered away, grew thin, and was eventually unable to walk long distances at all, thus she could no longer step outside the manner.

"Her husband stayed with her always then, often times only comin' in for work when necessary. And when she was startin' to become bedridden, he took an official leave of absence for an undetermined amount of time. We didn't see him for at least a month then, and when he finally came back, he wasn't the same. I'm… not exactly sure what happened, but I know she died after a mere five years together."

"Yes, she died," Rangiku interjected, realizing that due to his treacherous acts, her significant other hadn't heard the whole story the day of Rukia's execution. "And he, in an act of remorse and grief, made two vows he shouldn't have. First, on her deathbed, his wife asked that he continue her search for her sister and that he welcome her into the family as though he were her older brother and protect her at all costs because she had failed to do so. He agreed, thus her burdens were left to him in her dying breath. She'd also asked that he not tell her she was her sister because she could not bear it in her shame.

"He came back to… work a changed person. Cold, reserved, he was no longer the hot-headed noble he'd once been. His heart had died with her, and so he submerged himself in a numbing world where only the law prevailed.

"A year later he succeeded in finding the lost sister and immediately took her into the family despite protests. Keeping his promises to his wife, he directed everyone to tell her that he had taken a liking to her because of her resemblance to his late wife, despite the fact that he never once looked at her. She lived under this lie for a very long time.

"It is then that he made the second vow. Insane with his own misery, he went to his parent's grave and swore that, no matter the circumstances, he would follow every law for he knew now that breaking them only ended in pain. He'd loved his wife beyond comprehension, gone against his entire family for her, and she'd left him before they'd even started their life together. That he saw as his punishment for going against the law, and he swore never to do so again. He'd admonished himself for the rest of his life.

"Some years later however, he came to a fork in the road. His sister, during her work, had broken the law in order to save another's life. But because of her actions, she was sentenced to be executed. It was unfair really. She'd only broken the rules in order to protect a life that was threatened and due to unfair circumstances, her situation was taken advantage of by those with greater ideals. She was trapped in a game she and her brother were oblivious to.

"He didn't know what to do then. Her crime was grave and in order to keep his promise to his parents, he'd have to follow the law, but to keep the one to his wife, he'd have to break it. He was at a loss and he acted rashly in his confusion, doing things he would later regret.

"Thankfully, the very man the sister had saved later came to her rescue and stopped the execution. It was his words that convinced the brother to make the right decision. You see, this friend of the sister's had younger siblings as well, and he claimed that were he in the man's position, he'd go against the law any way he could in order to bring about saving her.

"But everything had grown complicated. There were traitors among the society and the younger sister had unintentionally fallen into their plans. She was going to be killed anyway. Her brother, realizing his failure, protected her at the risk of his own life, nearly dying in the act. Luckily he made it out in the end," she paused momentarily and glanced up at Gin, who only smiled wider and shrugged. "And he'd then explained everything to his sister. He'd broken his vow to his parents, he'd failed to protect his sister as his wife had asked, and he'd failed to keep her identity a secret. Every vow he'd made was broken, but he came out better because of it."

"Wait," their guest glanced between them. "Is that the end? Surely there's more to it." Rangiku glanced at Gin and he glanced back her.

"Well," the silver haired man started. "The story ain't exactly over yet. You see, after that incident, war broke out among the society and no clear cut shift was made in their relationship. And after the war, the sister stayed often times with the man she had saved so long before. So that's where we are now."

"What does that mean though?" she was very curious. "Do they speak to each other? Does she understand his position? Did she forgive him?"

"Well not right now they don't," Gin chuckled. "You see, we're still dealin' with the aftermath of the war. There were some previous enemies of ours that were found livin' normally, under the radar. And when our superiors found out about it, they demanded they be brought to justice. But the sister and her friends had in turn befriended the enemies and decided to stand with them against the society we come from. So her name is once again gracin' a traitors list. She's in hidin' right now, but her brother is no doubt lookin' for her."

"This all sounds like some kind of farfetched fairytale," their guest shook her head in disbelief. "Noblemen, war, traitors," she furrowed her eyebrows. "What kind of a backwater country do you come from?" she sat back, a sudden realization gracing her features. "Before, when we met, you said… you were on the run… you're not being serious are you?" She was rather suspicious of them all of a sudden and the fox-faced man chortled softly.

"Serious as a heart attack," he replied. "We're just as much in hidin' as those other traitors. We're kind of hopin' things will blow over, but ya never know. Might end up fighten' our old friends in the end." She was shaking her head.

"Who _are_ you people…?" she whispered, her eyes calm despite the fact that she was obviously speaking civilly with fugitives. "And-"

"Gin!" it was gasping voice, one filled with desperation and pain. "Gin, Rangiku!" Turning their heads, the three watched as a red haired man stumbled into the coffee shop. He was bleeding and dirty, his long hair falling over his shoulders in a disorganized mess.

Strangely enough however, no one was jumping to their feet to help the man. He was bleeding quite profusely and his jeans and t-shirt were ripped and mangled. Rising to her feet, the dark haired woman stared on in awe and terror as he collapsed on their table.

Backing up quickly, all three of them watched with wide eyes as the table was thrown to its side, the pained man collapsing on the floor.

"Renji!" Rangiku finally uttered as she bent down next to him. "Gin, he's leaking reiatsu everywhere, we need to-"

"I know," he replied as he bent down and hefted the man into his arms. _Now_ they were garnering stares from others around them, but to the artist they still seemed rather under the weather. Why was no one calling for an ambulance? "Grab her," he issued to his partner and pointed to their guest. "She's involved now." Nodding, the strawberry-blonde grabbed hold of the petite woman's wrist and dragged her out of the coffee shop after the fox-faced man.

Unable to register what was going on, the dark haired woman simply followed after them, dumbfounded as they headed through the rain. It was dark out and a bit chilly, but these things didn't catalog in her mind. And only as they turned down a dark alley did she find the nerve to begin feeling uneasy.

"What's wrong with him?" Rangiku questioned as her significant other leaned the redhead against a wall. "I didn't even sense him coming; it was like as soon as he saw us, he gave up trying to hide." Gin didn't answer her straight off; he was too busy examining the still semi-conscious man. "I'm putting up a shield."

Watching them in confusion, the dark haired woman listened as the fellow female started muttering something. Soon a bright flash shot from her palms and their guest felt as though she was trapped in a bubble. She wanted to panic, but she forced herself to remain calm.

"I didn't think they'd actually do it," the silver haired man shook his head. "I assumed when Rukia and Renji went off they had every intention of talkin' with the vizards, but there was no chance they would have granted two soul reapers their abilities. They would never do something like that, handin' the burden off intentionally, so why…?"

"What are you talking about?" Rangiku asked quickly. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's keepin' it somewhat under control," the fox-faced man was frowning, "but it's only a matter of time before it starts." He pursed his lips. "He's been hollowfied." Momentary silence graced the group as the information slowly digested in Rangiku's head.

"Who would do this?" she asked. "Certainly not the vizards, they would never purposefully do this." Gin didn't answer at first as he started casting a kidou spell, one that would hopefully slow down the progression until they could figure out what to do.

"It wasn't them," the redhead croaked, his voice barely audible. They listened intently. "We were… we've been training, Rukia and I. She's been trying to get to bankai for a while, she was almost there, so with some of the same stuff Urahara used on Ichigo, we managed to get her there. After that…" he paused to take a painful breath. "After that we were going to talk to Shinji and the others. It was a long shot that they'd hollowfy us and we weren't really expecting anything, but we…" he closed his eyes. "We didn't even get there."

"What do you mean?" Rangiku bent down next to him. "Who did this?"

"It was them," he replied. "Those hollow, the other Espada. We knew that by not using gigai's we were risking getting caught by Soul Society, but we didn't think those hollow would come after us," he shook his head vainly. "We didn't even see them coming…"

"Where's Rukia?" Gin asked calmly and the ex-lieutenant continued shaking his head.

"I don't know," he rasped. "We got separated. After it happened I knew I didn't have a whole lot of time and you guys were the closest to where we were so… you have to find Rukia, before she… she…" Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, Gin dialed in for Urahara. The blonde man picked up soon after.

"_What is it?_" he asked seriously, obviously not expecting a call from the ex-captain of all people. He was fully capable of taking care of himself.

"We've got a bit of a problem," the silver haired man stated, his face still frowning. "Some of those hollow got to Rukia and Renji, we need to know where the vizards are before this whole thing gets out of control."

"_Rukia and Renji?_" the blonde man replied back. "_What in the world would they want with them? This doesn't make any sense, they've only been targeting hollow beings before now… what is going on?_" Gin waited patiently for the scientist to sort through his thoughts. "_In any case, I don't know where the vizards are. I have no way of directly contacting them. They come and go as they please._" There was a pause. "_Contact Byakuya Kuchiki_," he started. "_I got a call from Isshin stating that their group had been found by him, but that he was only looking for Rukia and wasn't a threat. I guess Harribel told him what his sister was up to because they asked the same question you did. He's been looking for them as well. If anyone has a chance of knowing where they are, it's him._"

"How do ya want me to get a hold of him?"

"_Just call Isshin's phone, he gave it to Byakuya. The Captain can't call anyone from it as it's programmed to Isshin, but he should be able to answer it._" The silver haired man nodded. "_Are they both with you?_"

"Just Renji," he replied. "They got separated, but if he was able to find us before goin' insane with the hollowfication then they couldn't have been far. But if someone doesn't find her soon, she's goin' to call every shinigami from Soul Society to her location."

"_Alright, I'll contact Isshin and Harribel if you tell Byakuya. It's shouldn't take them long to get up there and they can help look for her. I'll try finding the vizards location as well, but hopefully Byakuya will have found them by now._"

"Alright," he replied.

"_Also,_" the scientist's voice was even more serious. "_Do not contact Ichigo and his group. The last thing we need is that idiot boy going insane and ruining our entire cover. We're already at jeopardy as it is. Those seven are dealing with their own problems right now anyway._"

"Do ya think I'm stupid or somethin'?" the fox-faced man stated, his grin returning. "In any case, I'll call Byakuya. See ya around." And with that he hung up the phone before opening it once again and making a second call, Rangiku's gaze on him as Renji tried to remain as calm as possible against the ally wall.

"_Hello Gin,_" was the cold reply he received.

"Hey there captain of squad six," he replied, the smile stretching once again across his cheeks. "Got some bad news for ya, seems yer too late in findin' yer sister, both she and yer lieutenant got tripped up in some hollowfication nonsense." He could almost feel the irritation radiating through the phone.

"_What are you talking about?_" he replied, deadpan. "_I've already spoken with the vizards and they haven't even made contact with anyone._" Gin sighed dramatically.

"I know that," he answered, "but is seems they didn't need to. From what yer lieutenant is sayin,' they got ambushed by some hollow that did it." Silence. "I know, I know, what hollow has that ability, but there's a whole lot to this story Soul Society don't know yet. In any case, Urahara said you might have found the Vizards, so where are they?"

"_They're located in the town of Beijing in China right now, I'll let them know to expect you as I only just left them,_" it was apparent by the stiffness in his speech that he was hiding a great many emotions.

"Good, though there's a bit of another problem," he continued. "See, Renji and Rukia got separated. Renji got to us, but yer sister's whereabouts are still unknown. If someone don't find her quick, she's going to be apprehended by Soul Society, and in her current situation, she'd be killed on the spot."

"_Where are you?_" he asked quickly.

"We're in London, so she's probably in Europe some-"

He pulled the phone away from his face. "That jerk hung up on me…"

"Where are the vizards?" Rangiku asked.

"China," he replied simply. "So long as we move now and keep that kidou on Renji, we should be able to get there before everythin' goes monster on him." The strawberry-blonde nodded and started casting more reiatsu hiding spells as her significant other dropped his gigai carelessly to the ground, his soul form clad in his favorite white suit and purple shirt.

Their guest gasped.

"Woops," Gin uttered as his eyes were drawn to her. "Forgot she was there." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Didn't mean to surprise ya," he apologized as she stared at his artificial body in horror. "This ain't a big deal," he assured as he picked it up. Pulling a black marble out of his pocket, he touched it to the lifeless form and it was suddenly sucked inside. "Portable gigai," he stated. "Great invention."

"What are we supposed to do with her?" Rangiku asked as she commenced in much the same process, still to their human guest's confusion and terror. "Erase her memory?" The silver haired man was thoughtful.

"No, like I said, she's involved now, just bein' around us has spiked her reiatsu. And even if Byakuya does find his sister before Soul Society, Rukia's mark will be left behind and they'll be drawn to the area, which in turn will draw them to our guest because Renji's mark is now all over her." He sighed. "Guess we have to take her with us." Rangiku stared at him in disapproval.

"Gin, even if they did find her, they wouldn't do anything, she's a human," she argued.

"That's true," he replied, "but it won't be long until they figure out that Captain Six is workin' outside of them, though not directly with us, and when they figure that out, who do you think they're goin' to take hostage to get him to cooperate?" He raised his eyebrows and his girlfriend sighed. He had a point. They'd recognize her after all.

Turning to the petite woman, she gave her sad eyes.

"You're going to have to come with us," she stated as Gin threw Renji over his shoulder, a frown finding his face as the lieutenant started to bleed all over his white suit. He'd have to get another one.

"Go… go with you?" she asked weakly. "Go where? To China?" She shook her head. "But why? What's going on?" She was suddenly nauseous and rather certain that she was going to be kidnapped.

"I'll explain everything later," Rangiku assured as she took a step forward. Only momentarily did the human entertain the thought of running, but her pursuer was extremely fast. In less than a second she was grabbed around the waist and pulled roughly to the woman's side, her light body seeming to have no effect on her tall captor.

And then the ground pulled away from her and she gasped, her eyes widening as her stomach was thrown into disarray. That didn't last long however as she was rather abruptly watching the lights of London vanish from her view as the woman holding onto her ran across the clouds.

And much to her unease, she was quite sure that this time around the strangeness of her life wasn't merely a dream.

**oooooooooooooooooo**

No Ulquihime this chapter, sorry. Next chapter hopefully. I just couldn't fit it in, too many other things going on this chapter. So Nemu really screwed things up. Hopefully our groups will be able to leave without getting caught. And Grimmjow and Tatsuki are fighting over something stupid. Too bad it doesn't look like they'll have time to apologize to each other before splitting up. I wonder where they'll all go?

Byakuya and Isshin had an interesting conversation. I don't know how many of you caught the Yoruichi comment, but they used to stealth train together, so they could sense each other easier after having practiced doing so before. Their relationship used to be one kind of like Yoruichi and Urahara, they knew each other inside an out, but we'll get more into that later. That's how they found each other. As for the rest of the convo… well everything will be explained it due time.

Szayel and those hollows are up to no good. What could they possibly be doing? Well I just don't know, but it looks like it's only a matter of time now before the real threat emerges.

And then there's Gin. I was watching the newest episode and I realized that he has a really laid back way of speaking, so I tried to incorporate that. In any case, in looks like Rukia and Renji are in a jam. But why I wonder? What's the point of turning them into vizards? What oh what are those hollow thinking? And then there's poor Hisana, getting dragged along… that will be interesting no doubt.

You notice how I have this tendency to try and make everyone happy? Isshin and Harribel, Gin and Rangiku, Byakuya and Hisana… I wonder why I do that? Either this story is going to have a really happy ending… or a really tragic one…. Which could it be? I already know how this story ends so I guess that's for all of you ponder, lowl!

In any case, hope you liked, there will be more action next chapter, more romance, more of everything this chapter lacked. I feel like this whole thing was more informative than anything else. Important things happened, but they weren't terribly exciting.

Just keep in mind that we now have some hollow transformations to deal with, some group splitting, some shocking revelations, and other things on the horizon. I guess you could say this chapter was more of a preparation chapter than anything else. I'll try and get to the next one soon. I go on holiday break tomorrow after all, so I'll have like, three weeks of free time. Of course when I go home I don't usually get any writing done but… we'll see I guess.

Luffs this Holiday Season

Toodles

R&R PLEASE! I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU ALL THIIIIINNNNKKKK!

This story is now over 300,000 words long… gooses…

GAH I FORGOT! ICHIGO IS GETTING HIS POWERS BACK IN THE MANGA! WIN! Love Ichigo :)


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